Everlong
by Alvrexadpot
Summary: Natalie is down on her luck and needs some extra cash (TrevorxOC)
1. Chapter 1

Natalie had moved into Sandy Shores roughly 5 years ago and she never had plans on leaving. In her mind she had everything she needed, a decent home that wasn't crumbling as much as the trailers around her, a job at the Yellow Jack Inn which paid well enough, and there was always something going on, whether it was another meth bust, or a Lost groupie having a kid on the side of Zancudo Avenue.

It wasn't a paradise for her by any means, but she figured it was good enough for her to make a living until there was something better that came along. Currently, her job as a bar tender and by default a conflict resolution consular paid her just enough to live decently, bills would be paid, clothing would be bought, and every so often she could afford to treat herself to a night out. But when her car -that she suspected was built to be a lemon- decided that it had enough, the wages she was paid weren't going to cut it if she ever hoped to buy a car that would last longer than her new lawn ornament did.

But as for now, she had to deal with walking, which wasn't the best idea with the horrible heat in the day, and the danger of gang violence at night, sometimes spending the night at her work when she feared that someone might follow her. She was rarely paranoid, but unfortunately, most Sandy Shores came there often and she was well experienced in their worst sides, enough so that a night sleeping on a beer stained couch was better than walking home.

Her boss Janet often took pity on her, treating her as if she was her child, despite Janet once telling her she never wished for a child. Janet often gave her a meal in the frequent double shifts Natalie pulled and left a throw blanket out at night just in case Natalie decided to stay. Tonight was a night Nat figured her smelling like mold and Bloody Mary's in the morning would be better than her possibly ending up in a shallow grave, it was growing towards last call and the bar was still buzzing from drunken rednecks, Janet and Natalie were in tune, helping wherever they could with each other, often leaving them with time to mingle with each other and the bar goers.

Natalie could hear a low, unamused grunt come out of Janet's mouth over the low buzz of conversation around them, she glanced over to where she was looking, towards the entrance where an impressively tall, older man came in. She recognized him around Sandy Shores but never paid him much mind, he was mostly familiar by the sign near the bar that specifically said he wasn't allowed in, now the detail were hazy as to why he wasn't allowed, since she hadn't been working that night, and when Nat saw him slip a 50 across the bar top to herr boss, it must not have been too serious since she tucked it into her bra and gave him a small nod in acceptance.

She saw the man turn to herself, grinning in a way that could make children cower and she were sure a lot of the trashier girls dropped their panties over. He sat himself on a stool unceremoniously, Janet having already poured him a drink and slid it over to him. She knew he frequented often before he was banned, but she mostly paid him no mind, he was one of the few that managed to hold his booze so there was no need to interfere. Before long she realised she were staring at him, thankfully he wasn't paying much mind to her, instead more focused on getting to the bottom of that glass.

Janet called out for last call, much to her dismay as everyone rushed her to get to their proper amount of inebriated before making their trek home. She smacked away a few that tried to reach for a bottle behind the counter, and a harder smack for one that grabbed for her chest, Janet coming to her defense, "Richard!" She shouted, as if chastising a child about to get their hands in something they shouldn't, she saw the man, pout, red faced from alcohol, before grabbing his glass and turning towards the den.

The place was beginning to clear out and Janet left her to close up for the night, explaining that her and her mail order husband were having their weekly conjugal that night. She told everyone to get the fuck out, only the obedient did, leaving roughly 5 men in the bar, she decided to let them be for the time being, knowing when she threatened to call the cops they would split.

As she were cleaning up spills from around the bar, a gruff voice spoke to her, "You from around here?" Natalie glanced up, noticing it was the formerly banned man, Trevor she thought it was, and upon a glance back at the 'banned' sign, it was either Trevor, Dex, or Andrew.

She nodded, tucking a few bottles away, "I've been here for a few years, I'm not far from Ammu-Nation." She said nonchalantly, waiting for him to ask when he could come over, as so many men before did.

He only nodded in return for a long moment, before setting his drink down, "You do any other work?"

Natalie shook her head, wincing when a customer threw up what looked like everything from his stomach, luckily making it to the trash bin just in time, "No, just here.. it's a good place, Jan always pays me on time. You do any work?" She asked him, purely to be polite.

"I do imports and trading." He said vaguely, before quickly changing the subject by outstretching his hand, "Name's Trevor."

She took his hand, giving a firm shake, much to the satisfaction of Trevor, "Natalie." She said with what was not entirely work enforced enthusiasm, even noticing her hand lingered a little longer on his calloused hand than what would be considered professional. She deemed it to be flirting, as crappy as it was, but blaming it on her recent dry spell in regards to sex.

Trevor didn't seem to notice her entirely too subtle attempt at flirting, but he did seem interested, doing that entire look over that many men in her past did, looking from her brunette, two toned hair and steely eyes down to her breasts, which weren't quite huge, but the perkiest the Yellow Jacket Inn had seen since hardcore drugs took over Sandy Shores. She didn't reprimand him for very obviously staring but turning away to resume her work.

Trevor smirked, slowly sliding himself off his bench and smacking a tip down onto the counter top, "Something happen to your car?"

She glanced back at him, a thick eyebrow raised, "Yeah.. it broke down, how do you know about my car?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Don't see it out there, you need a ride?" By the tone of his voice, his offer wasn't entirely innocent. She detected it meant something more than heavy petting was in store, and as much as the idea of sharing a bed that night was appealing to her, she didn't entirely know what he was about, having a dangerous, and rather attractive glint in his eye, but dangerous enough to be wary.

Nat shook her head, "No, I'm good.. thanks though." She said easily, not mentioning that she planned on sleeping here that night.

He nodded, not seeming bothered about his denied request, her suspecting he could easily call a girl to warm his bed. He gave her a lazy salute before sauntering out of the bar, her unable to help but check out the finely worked muscles in his arms as he left.

She cleared out the rest of the patrons after that, cleaning up after them, a job she was used to before, clicking off the radio that had Johnny Cash crooning out of it, before settling herself on the bar's couch.  
Natalie let her thoughts take over, wondering how she was going to be able to afford a new car and ensure some of her safety, wondering if it was worth it to secure a job at the local convenience stop, despite its frequent break ins.

She sighed to herself, tucking her anxieties away for another day. Finally, letting her eyes close, trying to ignore the smell wafting through the couch as she drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She noticed after a few days Trevor hadn't come around again, she spoke to Janet about it who found it odd that he seemed to be MIA. His presence was palpable to anyone around him, so it did invite a couple of whispers around town to where he might be, most suspected he found his way into a grave.

Natalie didn't necessarily care that he was gone, but finding it strange if he truly did die. In the short times she had seen him, Trevor looked like one of two things; either near death or close to bringing death. Usually it was bringing it, which often left people to give him his space.

Meanwhile Nat had been trying for jobs all around, but it just wasn't working out, the positions were either filled, or the area was too dangerous, or the boss was just a downright creep and she'd much rather go without a car than let them know where she lived. She even vaguely considered moving back with her parents for a bit up in Paleto Bay, but she knew if she went back she could very well be stuck up there indefinitely.

So she just pressed on, sitting in her trailer, trying to beat the heat as summer began creeping in, working through her laptop and going through various sites with the intent to be some sort of survey taker, it was poor money and after a long period of frustration she found it was just a scam, and with a exasperated sigh she shoved her laptop to the side and called into work to see if she could come in.

Janet luckily had some work for her so Natalie made the trip to her place of work, wearing as little as she could without being stared and, carrying a large bottle of water she firmly held on her neck to cool herself off. She thankfully made it to The Yellow Jack and immediately went behind to bar to help out Jan with an usually busy lunch hour. Natalie usually liked her job, the people her interesting and her boss was nice, but today wasn't one of those days. All the customers were too drunk for her liking, Natalie having to fight tooth and nail to get everyone else to behave themselves, which they rarely did with such a young, pretty girl. It wasn't until Janet decided to but in when everyone was properly chastised and sent on their way with their pockets a little emptier and their livers a little more damaged.

It wasn't long after the rush died down that Natalie begged for a break that she was given. She sat just outside the bar with a pack of cigarettes clutched in her hand. She rarely smoked, but when she was this stressed it was only natural for her to take comfort in a vice, something anyone in Sandy Shores was all too used to. The heat was still bothering her, but the taste of nicotine and the smell of fresh air was worth it, she was almost glad there was no wind today, so she didn't have to smell of rotting fish that the Alamo Sea often produced.

She laid back against the concrete patio, letting herself relax for a second that was too short lived for her liking when she heard what was undeniably Trevor's massive Bodhi, her able to tell from the engine roaring near or the deafening sound of Channel X. It was a wonder he could even hear, she thought to herself. She slowly heaved herself up when the engine cut not far from her to greet him.

She looked him over, in his normal attire of fading jean and his dingy off-white tee, thought looking a little rough. She took the cigarette out of her lips, pointing to a small trail of blood near the neckline of his shirt, "Is that yours?" Natalie inquired while grabbing the hair tie from her wrist and putting her hair up to help cool her off better.

He glanced down, apparently only noticing the stain just then, "Er, no." He mused, before shaking his head, "You're looking for a job right?" He said immediately after, her realising he perhaps came here other than to get shit faced.

She looked him over, lingering a little longer on his biceps like she's done before, "Yeah... why?" Was he offering her a job? She was tempted, but she knew it would most likely be illegal.

Trevor shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "I might have some work for you." He said simply, too vague for her liking.

She sighed, ashing her cigarette on the ground, and slowly getting up, her back popping a few times from the stress "And what would this work require?"

"I would just need you to hide some things for me for awhile." He said simply, Natalie not convinced.

"And what would those things be?" She raised a brow and crossed her arms, noticing that Trevor gave a not so subtle glance at her chest.

"Nothing you need to know about to keep it safe." He said shortly, Nat wasn't sure why he seemed impatient, her caution was justifiable, but then again he didn't seem all too reasonable, "If you don't _fuck_ with it, and no one else _takes_ it, then I'll pay you by the end of the week." He didn't sound like he was going to go further, just looking for a yes or a no.

Natalie frowned, looking at him for a long moment, weighing up the pros and cons before nodding her head, "Alright, fine, sure." She finally conceded. She had no criminal record, so there was no reason why the cops would be knocking on her door, and any cash was good enough.

He made a grunt in triumph, clapping his hands together, "Great! I'll get Ron to send some stuff your way tomorrow."

She frowned, her brows furrowing, "Ron?"

He nodded again, already turning back to his truck, "Yeah, Ron, you'll know him when you see him."

Before Natalie could muster out some form of thanks or anything, T was already pulling out and heading down the stretch of dusty road. She was suddenly met with doubt, wondering if risking what could very well be jail time for a little extra money. But no turning back now, she had a hidden urge to prove she was capable to Trevor, though she couldn't quite figure out why. Even then, he didn't look like a guy who took kindly to anyone who chickened out.

Janet caught her attention from the bar's front door, "Hey, kid, you gonna sit here all day? We need you to pick up some ice for us."

Natalie sighed and nodded, giving her a small wave before taking the long trek down to the convenience store, hoping the ice wouldn't melt all the wall in between trips.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Natalie was anxious to say the least, she had cleaned up her trailer a bit to make herself seem somewhat professional and serious about her new 'job', despite the whole nature of the job being rather unprofessional.

She hadn't given Trevor her address but by noon two men came in with several cardboard boxes, she decided not to ask how they found her. One guy she recognized from the radio and by word of mouth as Ron, he looked just how he sounded; skittish, aging and a bit off mentally, the other being a guy around her age who called himself Wade, who was attractive to her in his own way, but his intelligence -or lack thereof- was definitely off-putting.

Wade and Ron packed four boxes total into her closet, all of which looked like they carried a large amount of weight. She was curious as to what was in them, but having very little drive to actually investigate. Curiosity killing the cat and all, and Trevor looked like the kind of guy who killed plenty of cats.

When they were finished unloading, Ron gave her a run through of what her job description was, only giving her the bare essentials of the job, which was to never let herself or anyone else touch the boxes unless it was Ron, Trevor or a guy named Chef; just to keep them safe and hidden until they were needed. She figured it was easy enough, promising to do as she was told and was given both Trevor's and Ron's number if there was any sort of mishap or someone suspicious started poking around her trailer. She was promised payment by the end of the week, the amount being vague, but she trusted them enough not to screw her over, or at least hoped they wouldn't.

After the general run through of her duties, Natalie was left to her own devices. She gave a look over to her now firmly locked up closet, the key to it was with Ron for his own peace of mind, not that he seemed to be a guy who found much peace with how paranoid he always was. She wasn't told how long she would be keeping whatever they were stashing in her house, or even if she was going to be doing this more than once, but she wasn't one to complain when money was on the table and the work seemed easy enough.

–

Natalie had work a few days after, which she considered taking off since The Yellow Jack's air conditioning was busted until a repairman could come in the next day. Luckily Janet had stocked up heavily on fans for such an occasion so when Natalie entered the front doors to man the bar for the rest of the night, she could hear the steady hum of fans mixing with the sound of customers who decided to do a little early drinking before there was a larger crowd.

The bar was fairly quiet that day, as it usually was in the middle of the week the loudest sound to come out of anyone was the occasional cough from the one's who had been smoking since before Natalie was even born. The bar was still hot despite what she counted as 10 fans total, but with a fan blasting only a foot away from her face and a freezer full of ice at the ready she felt she could handle being the only one working the night shift.

She had pulled up a stool for herself behind the bar, lazily topping off people's drinks when they were running a little low and listening to whoever decided to talk to her. She never really talked about herself, not that she wanted to remain secretive, but her job as a bartender was to act as a cheap therapist; lending an ear when a guy wanted to talk about his bitch ex-wife who took all his 'honestly' earned money or a woman was just so tired of her man coming home higher than a kite and with a bad attitude.

She heard a small bell jingle that let her know someone had entered The Yellow Jack, pleasantly surprised to see her new boss Trevor come through the entrance. He took up an empty bar stool in front of her, giving a grin Natalie could only imagine was shared by predators. He wore a shirt that was in need of cleaning, not that she looked like the picture of hygiene, the heat causing sweat to stain the pits of her faded Pißwasser tank top.

She gave him a quick look over so that it wasn't obvious that she was checking him out, he was more liberal in his staring, not hiding the fact that he was looking right at the top of her exposed cleavage as she spoke, "Can I get you anything?"

Trevor dragged his gaze away from her chest to properly look at her, shaking his head casually "No, was wondering how business was going." He said simply, his arms lazily resting over each other on the wooden bar top.

She could tell his interest wasn't in the bar, instead whatever cargo he was keeping hidden over at her place, "Everything's fine, no problems." She spoke enthusiastically while topping off another drink to an already drunk customer, "Well actually..."

"What?" He snapped, suddenly looking and sounding impatient.

She sighed, speaking casually "Well, it looks like those biker guys over in Stab City have been coming around Ammu-nation a lot more often, they usually hang by near my trailer, I don't know, figured you'd like to know"

It wasn't something she seemed to worried about, The Lost MC itself was a dangerous and unhinged gang, but you were fairly safe if you didn't try to piss them off or stayed out of their way when they decided to get tipsy or smoke up, so Natalie never gave them much of a reason to harm her. Still, that left Trevor tense, his mood noticeably dropping suddenly which left the younger girl confused at the sudden change in attitude, being unaware of the tensions between Trevor and the MC.

He didn't explain his sudden homicidal urge, simply getting up quickly from his seat and storming right back out of the aging bar, leaving a few patrons to glance over at the door when he left. Natalie frowned at that, suddenly feeling a lot less safe about working with Trevor and having the Lost hanging around than she was before.

–

By the end of the week she was given the money she was promised by Ron, a good $500 now tucked into her pocket and lifting some of the weight off her shoulders. The boxes remained where they were, Ron explaining they would probably be needed sometime soon, but her services would still be needed after for future packages that needed securing. She sent way a silent thanks to whatever stroke of luck was letting her earn cash so quickly, then giving a real thanks to Ron for the opportunity before he left and went on his way to whatever it was he did between radio shows and serving Trevor.

She noticed even after her short conversation with her new boss The Lost were still hanging around, Natalie's only complaint being the noise pollution. They were a rowdy crowd to say the least, and being around guns certainly didn't help when impassioned, drunken meth heads decided to party. But she decided the occasional annoyance wasn't something to get her too annoyed, so she let them be a stuck to minding her own business.

On a particularly chilly night she had off Nat spent the night watching an old black and white movie about some serial killer, a cold beer in one of her hands and the tv remote loosely held in the other enjoying the quietness of her own company.

She wasn't someone who had many friends in her life, she mostly kept to herself, never one that needed much comfort that didn't come from a cigarette or the bottom of a beer, her only sources of human interaction was the long hours at the bar or the times she chose to share a bed with someone. Her closest -and really only- friends being Janet and an old girlfriend from when she still lived in Paleto Bay years ago. She didn't mind keeping such a small circle of companions, she had dreams of eventually traveling the world, ideally moving around so often there wasn't a place she called home, so keeping to herself seemed to be a best option she chose for herself.

She jolted upright from her couch when she heard the unmistakable sounds of gunfire not far from her trailer. Gunfire wasn't unheard of in Blaine County, almost everyone living here had a strong belief in their 2nd Amendment right and always left home carrying something in their waistband or bag, but automatic weapons weren't often heard piercing through the night's silence, especially when there seemed to be more than a few going off at once.

She found herself slowly creeping towards the window to see where the noise was coming from, peaking through the small space between her blinds to find the commotion was a few blocks away over by the local convenience store, way too close for her liking. She had a sinking feeling perhaps her boss Trevor was to blame for this, it was commonly known the Trevor Philip's residence never stayed quiet for long, and guns were often the source of the breach in peace. She went over to her front door, locking it tight and checking the clock to see how long it would take before the police decided to intervene.

Within minutes the gunfire sounded like it was giving her closer, which left Natalie wound up tight and trying to find a spot that would most likely protect her from a stray bullet if the firefight happened to land on her front lawn She sat herself on the cold tile of her bathroom floor, her hand clutching so tightly to her cell phone, her knuckles were white, her breathing was heavy and shallow despite how hard she tried to calm herself down.

Her heart skipped a beat and dropped straight down from her chest when she heard her front door's lock break and the door nearly thrown off its hinges. She let out a shrill scream as someone she recognized as a Lost MC came barging through the door and into the bathroom where she hid. His eyes were bloodshot from meth and adrenaline staring directly at her and reaching towards her, "Come here you little bitch." He threatened.

She kicked her feet out to shove him back but missed, with one hand he reached down and gripped tightly into his hair, she made a pained cry as she was forced to her feet by her hair, she twisted, trying to get a good hit in, but any punch she threw barely even caused him to flinched. He jerked her back out of the trailer, Natalie stumbling along the way, screaming a string of obscenities and death threats his way, but was effectively shut up when her back was pressed against his front and the butt of his gun was jammed against her throat.

She wasn't pulled along far, being shoved into the back of a bullet hole ridden MC van that was parked right in front of her trailer. Another Lost member was waiting for her inside, replacing the fist in her hair with his own, dragging all of her inside and slamming her face first into the floor of the van. Black stars burst into her vision as blood-shot from her nose and the pain pulsed through her weakening body. She could just barely hear the van's doors being shut behind her and those bastard MC cackling and shouting orders as the last remnants of her consciousness died just as her head was bashed into the floor once more.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Natalie was sure she was going to die.

She woke up to her head throbbing so hard she was sure her brain was going to launch itself right through her skull. She found herself sitting in an old, rusting lawn chair with her arms twisted uncomfortably behind her back and tied together with rope that was rubbing her wrists raw. She was in someone's living room, the smell of old cigarettes and body odor along with the general look of the room was almost nauseating. She looked over to a window layered with a film of grime, telling her it was around mid-day when she woke up. Whoever was holding her captive didn't bother putting the AC on, so her whole body had a layer of thick sweat caked onto her skin that only made her feel all the more like death. If the plan in this was to cook her to death, she felt she was halfway through being well done.

She tried pulling against the rope in an attempt to break free, but her weakened state only made the rope cut deeper into the sores developing on her wrists to the point that the brunette was sure she was bleeding. She wondered briefly how long she had been out, but there wasn't any hint to tell her whether or not she had only been knocked out for a few hours or even a few days, but by the sound of the low, pained growl in her gut that told her she needed to eat before her stomach decided to eat itself, she was sure she had been there for a while.

The tense silence was broken when a Lost member came through the door. His head was shaven much like many of the other members, his skin scabbed and sagging from the drug abuse that was so common among the gang. He gave her no time to plead for her release, grabbing the pistol that was tucked in his jean's waistband and pointing the barrel of the gun towards her, making her skin crawl. He approached her, lifting his booted foot and tipping back the chair she was sitting on far enough so she and it fell down, the back of her head smacking against the threadbare carpet beneath them, the throbbing reaching all new levels of pain as she made a pathetic yelp, hissing through her teeth as the pain settled into her skull.

"Now I'm going to say this once." He started, his voice menacing and low as he knelt down and looked straight down at her, his pupils looking like needle points and his nostrils flaring, apparently needing to be high to get through this interrogation "Where does Trevor cook his meth?"

Her heart was punching against her ribcage, her eyes wide in fear, "I-I don't know! I don't know anything about him!" She choked out, the tough bravado she usually put on failing her as her panic was skyrocketing.

He gave a harsh, but unamused laugh, his rough, calloused hands snaking around her narrow throat, squeezing her neck threateningly with his fingertips, "You fucking work for him, how do you not know anything?" He demanded, small droplets of spit escaping his mouth and landing on her face, she winced.

The hand around her neck didn't block off her airway any, but the putrid air around her feeling like it was thinning as panic was taking over her frazzled senses, her breathing began to quicken. She wondered if there was any way she could ever make it out of this trailer alive, and even if she did sing like a bird for the people holding her here about the information she had no hopes of knowing, she wasn't sure how she could survive after ratting on Trevor, who looked like he wasn't too big a fan of betrayal.

Nat seemingly had a choice of dying; with a bad attitude the entire way and some pride, or dying a filthy snitch, and since an option to live didn't seem to exist in this, she'd be damned if she was going to go out a snitch. So she swallowed the thick lump in her throat, taking a deep breath she hoped he didn't notice, and simply glared daggers at him as her response, praying she looked a hell of lot tougher than she felt.

Judging by the look on her abuser's face -who looked rather pissed off- it was working. The few teeth still in his mouth gritting together in frustration, "Stupid bitch!" He barked at her, the hand around her neck moving away to form into a tight fist, smashing right into her jaw with a sick popping noise.

She cried out when her jaw went slack on impact, her feeling teeth crack and break away and blood pooling in her mouth. She glanced up at him, seeing a twisted smile on his face from seeing her in so much pain. She did the only thing she could, spitting the blood and teeth right back at him, a light splatter of red staining his already roughed up face. His smile dropped into a scowl, this time bringing his fist to her eye socket, she let out another pained yell at that, the muscle around her eye already feeling like it was swelling from the damage.

Someone else entered the front door, a man she recognized hanging around her trailer before, he crossed his arms and shook his head at the sight of the two, "Dammit Charlie, can you not lose your shit for a fucking hour?"

Charlie slowly stood back up, smearing her blood off his face with the back of his hand, "Bitch had it coming." Was all he could say as he took a step away from her, the other man clearly having more authority in this.

The new guy walked to her, hauling her and the chair back up to a sitting position, alleviating the pressure of laying on her arms, "Now c'mon brother, did you even ask her if she knew where the cook site was?" He sounded like someone trying to calm a child, despite them both looking roughly the same age.

"Yes!" He defended, his agitation rising, "She won't say anything, Trevor must be paying the bitch well." Natalie wondered in the back of her mind if this guy legitimately thought that her name was really 'bitch'.

The other guy looked to Natalie for confirmation. She only returned his gaze, her throbbing jaw setting her mouth in a hard lie.

He frowned, shaking his head, "You know you can make this easy on yourself, sweetheart. I really don't want to hurt a pretty lady any more than I have to. So just tell me, as a personal favor... where does Trevor cook?" He had a calm tone in his voice, but she knew better than to think it was anything near friendly. She noticed that he seemed less drug addled compared to the rest of his MC buddies, his physical features more worn and wrinkled from hard work in the sun than substance abuse and his attitude less erratic from sober living, but she knew better than to think he could be any less dangerous than the rest of them.

Either way, she didn't soften from her tough mentality, "I already told him what I know; I don't know anything. I just do what he tells me and I don't ask questions." She spoke with finality, wanting this nightmare to be done and over with.

He grinned at that, his teeth yellowing, "What a good quality in a worker. Even better in a woman." That earn a short laugh from Charlie who hung around behind him, "I admire your loyalty, Trevor hooked himself a good one, but that's just not going to work out for us." He explained in a way that seemed scolding. His superiority complex getting on her nerves.

He stepped behind her, reaching down with a pocket knife in his hand, sawing through the rope that was keeping her tied until her hands were let loose. She wasn't given a second to escape, the man grabbing her arm and jerked her up roughly. She didn't realize how truly disoriented and weak she felt until her knees felt weak and almost buckled under her weight, but the man holding her seemed to be the one supporting her the most. She drug over to a dining table deeper in the trailer, he then forced down to her knees with her chin hitting the table top. The arm that was being held was now pressed firmly against the table, the Lost member's arm pinning her wrist down, causing the sores on her wrist to ache.

He spoke with the same calmness as before, but this time Natalie could detect a threatening note, something that made the hair's on her neck rise us, "I'll ask you one more time before I do something none of us will like, and please don't make me do it... where does Trevor Philips cook his methamphetamine?"

She had no clue what was in store after she answered, but there wasn't much time to think. She wondered if these were her last moments alive, she didn't want to die afraid, but damn it, she had no choice in this. She could hear Charlie walking closer, now directly behind her to her right. He had to be loving this, the sadistic bastard she thought. She knew she was visibly panicking by then, unable to help the threat of tears scratch away at her eyes.

She briefly thought of home in Paleto Bay, she should've been a better daughter, a better sister, maybe if she did as she was expected to do she wouldn't be held captive at the hands of a drugged up gang, waiting to die. She wondered if her family would even remember her, for their peace of mind, she hoped they didn't.

She finally squeezed her eyes shut, her entire body tense with anticipation, taking a deep breath that left her mouth shaky, before finally spoke, speaking as evenly as she could, her fear not showing "I don't know."

Natalie heard what sounded like a knife stabbing through wood, along with something else she couldn't figure out, but there was no pain, no suffering, she wondered if she was even still alive. She poked one eye open, looking to her hand. Something was missing, and it wasn't hard for her to figure out.

Her finger.

Her pointer finger wasn't there. Pure horror drained the blood from her face. She lifted her hand up, trying to convince herself it was still there. No, just empty space and blood. Her scream of terror rang through the trailer before the shock went away and the pain set in.

The pain was something beyond what she could imagine, so horrible that all that she had dealt with through this whole ordeal couldn't even compare. It took all of her willpower not to throw up right there as tears spilled down her swelling cheeks and screams left her mouth. But there was nothing she could do when sound was fading away and her vision blurred into blackness once again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Natalie tried counting the days she was stuck there in some semblance of sanity. She had counted 3 nights total; Though she often nodded off when stress and exhaustion proved too much to bear, leaving her worried she was asleep for days on end and perhaps it had been a full week or two that she had been held captive. She tried marking time passages through the meager meals the Lost would give her. But that proved useless when the meals came erratically, sometimes twice in a day, sometimes once every two days.

Her new bondage consisted of chains wrapped around her sore wrists, the other end of the chains tied to a bolted down space heater. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but much better than the rope they had used on her earlier, even allowing her the freedom to sit and lay down before sores started welling up on her body.

She looked to her hand once more, as she often did nowadays. The Lost had been courteous enough to wrap up her hand in bandages, although poorly and her finger was still gone, taken with them as some sort of sick trophy. When she had woken not long after she lost the digit, she had for a few seconds forgotten the terrible event. But when she looked to the source of her most intense pain and saw the bloody nub, she was reduced to fits of screaming for hours on end, whether is was the immeasurable amount of pain or purely despair.

Natalie soon after had been transported out of the trailer she had thought she would die in, instead to what was little more than a broom closest. There was little for her to sit there and do until her days were finished, often looking through a small window near the ceiling, that provided no means of her knowing where she was, only pointing towards the sky. She could hear she was in some kind of building the MC frequented, but she couldn't tell what. She wasted her time listening into conversations about who said what, how many people railed someone's old lady, and anything and everything in between. She deduced it was some type of clubhouse. In the distance she could hear what had to be a busy road, so at least she wasn't far from civilization. Natalie found comfort that her body would perhaps be found.

There was only 3 men total who would come to see her, asking the same question time and time again; 'Where did Trevor cook?'. She answered with silence, too tired to fight back, but she would receive a short, strong punch to the face before being left on her own again. The frequent beatings left her right eye swollen shut. Nat was glad she didn't have a mirror in there, glad they were the only ones to see the mess done to her face.

In her times of despair she thought of home, a place she'd been so eager to leave but now wished so dearly that she could go back. She was raised nuclear, a mom and a dad who loved each other very much and an older brother who was expecting a child with his college sweetheart. Her childhood was the American dream, but she found so painfully, depressingly boring. They were a quiet family, never making a fuss, liked among their neighbors, and did as so many planned before; get married, raise children, see their grandchildren and pass away after a long life.

Natalie never wanted that for herself. She didn't want a quiet life where she would pop out kids and die a death that wasn't memorable. She was upset that her family was happy to live quietly, that they never wanted to step out of their comfort zone. When they heard she was moving away to be some 'trailer trash' they were scandalized; their little girl wasn't content enough to be a housewife. She hadn't spoken to her parents in years, the last time she had spoken to their brother, it was obvious that they had nothing in common. They ended their phone call in a silent agreement that they wouldn't speak until one of them was dying.

Natalie lay her head down, looking at the door that was her only means of escape, but it was locked so tightly she had no hope left in it. She spent countless hours thinking of what she could do to save herself, but nothing seemed feasible, her will to live was dwindling.

There was a commotion outside, people were yelling at each other, but it happened so often it wasn't anything new to her. Despite that, she listened in to see what the issue was this time around. It sounded like a bunch of guys, they sounded angry and tense, something about an attack, but she couldn't hear much to know the specifics. She however could tell the fight was coming their way and some small part of her had hope that maybe there would be a window of opportunity for her to escape her captors. Said window expanded to the door when she heard Trevor's name being spoken in anger. Her heart skipped a beat and she choked on a sob of pure eagerness, a grin stretched across her face, smiling for the first time in what seemed like eons.

There was a sudden onslaught of gunshots. It made her jump and tucked herself into a corner, her eyes locked on the door, wait for someone, anyone, to barge in. She could hear people were dying, some she was sure were the Lost, though some she feared was the team that could potentially save her life. She didn't hear the familiar gruff voice that was Trevor's, she was afraid it wasn't him after all.

She briefly wondered why Trevor would even come, she was just some small, easily replaceable pawn in the grand scheme of his business. Natalie began doubting that he was even there, Trevor being a fairly common name and all, doing what could be called a suicide mission just to protect her. She sat back, chewing her lip and almost ignoring the fight just outside. The Lost was sure to have enemies, maybe it was just a gang war. Maybe the rivaling gang would have mercy on her, any enemy of the MC was a friend of hers.

A bullet burst right through the door, almost hitting her in a place that would've surely killed her. She screamed, trying her best to hide further in the corner to avoid another bullet just as someone broke open the door. She didn't recognize him, he was a black man with a hard look on his face, his clothes were bloody but it didn't look like he took any hits, an automatic weapon was held firmly in scrapped up hands. He looked like an angel of death to her.

"Aw' shit." He winced at her appearance, she apparently looked just as bad as she felt, he closed the door behind him, quickly stepping closer to her and kneeling down, trying to undo the chains, "Are you Natalie?"

She was shocked, her hands shaking, "Y-Yeah.. did Trevor send you?" Her wrists were let free, she looked down to find angry red blisters, some bleeding.

He nodded, helping her up, she was weak, hardly able to stand on her own, "Yeah, he called us to help out." He noticed she was having a hard time, speaking into his earpiece, "T, I found her, but we gotta carry her out, I need back up." He paused for a moment, listening to Trevor on the receiving end, before looking back to her, then down at her hand, it mummified in bandages, "What happened?"

She frowned softly, "They uh... cut off my finger." Suddenly feeling self conscious, hiding her hand behind her back

He shook his head, looking disgusted at what they did to her, speaking into his earpiece again, "Any time now guys, we gotta take her to the hospital." A pause, "Yeah, she's awake, but she's looking rough." He gave her a compassionate look, "Sorry."

The door opened again to another man he didn't recognize, he looked roughly Trevor's age but much well put together, "Jesus, what'd they do to you?"

They didn't give her time to answer, the younger man wrapped her arm around her waist and scooped her up into his arms, "Alright Mikey, we gotta make this quick, you got my back?"

The well tailored guy who was apparently Mikey nodded, and they made a dash to the front door. Natalie looked around, she was in a bar of all places, bodies littering the floors, making her feel nauseous. She caught a glimpse of Trevor before she looked away to eb away the bile rising in her throat.

When they made it out of the bar it was bright, blinding her for a few seconds before she was toted to a black SUV and tucked into the passengers side, Michael spoke through his earpiece, "Trevor we got her out, we're taking her up to the hospital up in Paleto Bay."

The younger man hopped into the driver's side, Michael looking like he was going to find his own transportation. She bulked herself up with fumbling hands just as they pulled away from the ruined bar. The guy beside her spoke up, "How are you feeling? I'm Franklin, by the way."

She adjusted herself into a more comfortable position in her seat, "Like hell, but I'll live... just yknow, try to take me to the hospital sooner rather than later."

He smiled a little, nodding, "I think I can do that." The ride north wasn't a long one, she soon saw the quiet, suburban city that was her hometown. He spoke as they edged closer to the medical center, "I can bring you in but I need to leave immediately after. I can't have cops trying to talk to me."

She nodded a little, cradling her hand against her chest, "I understand."

Franklin stopped the SUV right in front of the facility, hopping out of the car and dashing over to the passengers side, he help her out and hauled her into the hospital, "We need some medical attention over here!" He shouted out to anyone who would listen.

A few nurses were at the ready, hurrying to the two and taking Natalie out of his arms, laying her down on a waiting gurney. She saw just as the attention was on her, Frank was already leaving, she smiled a little and giving a small wave goodbye as nurses went through rapid fire questions.

She laid her head back, taking a deep breath and letting herself cry through a grin. She was finally free, she could finally feel safe. She never felt happier.


	6. Chapter 6

Notes- Sorry for the wait, several issues came up. First, my proofreader was unable to check it over and this is the first smut chapter I've written in years, so it was incredibly hard to do.

So as you might guess, this chapter is nsfw, so read with caution and go easy on me

Chapter 6

The road to recovery was surely going to be a long one. Natalie had spent a only week being held against her will by The Lost MC, a gang that had been the bane of most of Blaine County. However, the time that would be taken to fully recover from the trauma would take lifetimes. But she had a lifetime to deal with that, so she let it be for the time being, she was more concerned about her physical wounds, which were fading away before her eyes as time progressed, which she was more than happy about.

Her finger wasn't fixable, but she knew that before she was even rescued. The mess that was her teeth was fixed however, after several painful surgeries and replacements. After what felt like ages of being poked and prodded by the medical staff, as well as frequent questioning by the Blaine County police; she was finally released. She didn't complain much during her time at the hospital however, she was allowed what she wasn't while captive; to be able to walk, to eat something actually filling, to smile and actually enjoy herself. But all of that paled in comparison to the feel of sunlight as she first stepped out the facility.

It was a hot day, not a single cloud in the sky. People of north San Andreas roamed the streets, on the way to plans they had looked forward to all week, enjoying their hot Saturday afternoon doing whatever they saw fit with whatever cash they had in their pockets. Despite the bandaging around her hand, she felt like a part of them. Someone called out her name, a girl her age she had known since high school named Rebecca. Becca was what Natalie considered her only true friend, and when Becca caught word that her friend was not only in Paleto Bay, but also in the hospital, she jumped into her car to 'break her out'.

Rebecca flagged her down excitedly, throwing her arms around Nat as she approached her and enveloping her into a bear hug, squealing with delight to see her longtime friend, completely unaware of the hell she had gone through only a short time ago. Nat convinced her the injuries she sustained was from some horrible hiking accident near Mt. Gordo; her friend had no reason to question it. Becca cupped her friend's face in her hands to get a good look at her. The swelling and bruises that had ruined her good looks were only a memory now, her soft face had returned and sharp gray eyes looked to her best friend fondly. Rebecca hadn't changed much since Natalie had last laid eyes on her a little over a year ago. She had a smile that was wide enough to wrinkle the corners of her brown eyes and teeth so white and glistening they were a sharp contrast to her dark skin and the pile of black kinky hair styled on the top of her head.

"I missed you so much!" Rebecca announced, both climbing into her bright yellow Panto. She briefly looked over to Natalie, her grin widening, "I knew those clothes would look good you." Becca has provided her a tank top and shorts when it was very clear that Natalie's bloodied clothes weren't going to be cleaned after a few washes. Nat was thankful that the both of them shared relatively similar clothing sizes.

Natalie smiled back at her, grabbing a pair of sunglasses from the dashboard and putting them on, "So we're going to the beach?"

Rebecca nodded, turning on the radio to the current pop hit that she no doubt knew every word to, "Mhmm, a couple of my friend's wanted to meet you so they're coming along too, hope you don't mind."

The brunette shook her head, "Nope, I'd love to meet them." Despite her normal ideals of keeping to herself, she couldn't say no to her oldest friend, and perhaps a day out with a few people was just what she needed on her first day of freedom.

"Good!" She said eagerly, "Cause they thought you sounded so cool, especially with the missing finger. They think your a badass now." She laughed. Becca wasn't one to dwell on bad feelings, which was exactly what Natalie wanted; their goals in life were just to have a good time and have good feelings all around, a missing body part wasn't going to stop them for what would surely be a great beach day.

The drive wasn't very long, ending up on a beach nearby Paleto where five of Rebecca's friends were waiting for them to join. They already had set up a fire pit and were helping themselves to a cooler full of beers. Both of them hopped out of the car, going to the back of the Panto and unpacking beach chairs and towels, quickly joining up with the rest of the group, who greeted the two of them with cheers and open arms.

The day turned to evening and it was everything Natalie could have wanted. Drinks and laughs were shared all around by new friends. She left with Rebecca with a grin on her face, everything was so incredible since she got out, even the simplest pleasures like building a crappy sand castle or sharing an inside joke was so wonderful and worth cherishing to her. She had a long life to live and she intended on making it a great one.

–

Rebecca dropped her off at her trailer, asking if Natalie wanted her to hang around for a little long. Natalie politely declined, saying she'd finally like to sleep in her own bed and get a feel for her house again. Rebecca understood and left soon after while Natalie turned to the home that she didn't think she'd see again.

When she opened the door everything seemed to be where she last left it. She looked at the lock on her front door and found it replaced, she wondered who got around to fixing it since the break in. She also noticed her closet had been opened and made empty, which made her wonder who was the one to grab it; the MC or Trevor.

She sat herself on her couch after disposing of a stale beer left behind and locking her front door. Natalie's nerves were beginning to eat away at her chest slowly as the lonesome silence surrounded her. She wondered if they would come back, the thought of being dragged back into their clutches made her feel almost sick. She had to get some form of protection for herself. She had been one of the incredibly few in Sandy Shores to own a gun, she never had a reason to. But with the looming threat, she couldn't think of any other way.

There was a knock on her door that nearly made her jump out of her skin. She scrambled up and grabbed a kitchen knife from the counter, concealing it behind her back. She crept to the door, looking through the peephole to find Trevor on the other side. She sighed a breath of relief before opening the door, stepping to the side to let him in.

He came inside, turning and looking her over, noticing her hand was behind her back. She sighed softly, revealing the knife she was keeping with a shrug. He eyes flicked up to hers, "Planning on using that on me?"

She shook her head, laying the knife back on the counter before sitting herself back on the couch, "No, but you can never be too safe y'know? The stuff you were keeping here is gone."

He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the counter, speaking causally, "Yep, I figured when you got swiped you were done with this whole thing so I'm keeping them with Ron."

She blinked, shaking her head quickly and standing right back up, "No! I mean... I still need money, especially with all the hospital bills piling up, I could still do it if you want me to." She looked down at her bandaged hand idly.

He raised an eyebrow at her, looking surprised, "Really? You're that suicidal, huh? I guess I could, but we need to get you armed so that shit doesn't happen again."

The thought of The Lost coming back for her made panic shoot through her body and made her stomach twist in knots, but she quickly pushed it away to continue, "I was thinking the same thing, but I need to get a permit."

Trevor shook his head quickly, waving the idea off with his hand, "Nah, don't worry about that, I'll get you a gun." He then grabbed the case of beer she brought in with her from off the tile floor, helping himself to one.

"Oh, okay." Natalie didn't give herself time to think too much into it, she was sure he had the means to smuggle her a gun, hopefully he could teach her how to use it, "I uh... Thanks for saving me by the way... you don't know how grateful I am."

He scoffed, a grin on his face, "Doesn't sound very grateful." He replied.

She smiled a little, "I really am, I wouldn't be alive if you didn't come and save me... I really owe you." Natalie accidentally let a sexual undertone go through at the last part.

She had forgotten that she had even found him attractive, with everything that happened the thought of sex was the absolute last thing on her mind. So it came as a surprise to her to find sexual attraction rear its head again. Nat doubted now was the time for her to be flirting, she had to get her life back in order. But it was too late to pull back now, so she threw caution into the wind and chose to see how far this would take her.

Trevor raised an eyebrow at her, "You bounce back quick don't you?"

She shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, "I know what I want." She replied simply.

There was no discussion after, Trevor had quickly closed the space between the pair, Natalie finding herself pressed against the wall with the older man's hands making their way under her shirt and up her sides. Her heartbeat quickened and she looked up at him to find him looking right back down at her. She didn't waste any time to match his vigor, leaning up a little and kissing him in which he reciprocated. The kiss was heavy and needy, neither of them wanting to take things slow. Natalie's hands were against his cheeks, feeling the rough stubble against her palms.

Trevor broke the kiss when forced her shirt off her body, making a display of throwing it across her trailer, he gave a satisfied smirk to find her bra-less, a small stick-and-poke heart tattoo marked the side of her left breast that seemed to go well with two silver nipple piercings, both modifications done in her teen years. He moved his hands to cup her chest, both his thumbs running over her nipples, which she responded to with a soft, pleased sigh. His mouth came back down against hers, his hands moving to cup her ass and lifted her off the ground with little effort. Her legs and arms wrapped around him to help support her weight; she was silently grateful that she owned such a small frame.

He carried her back to her bedroom, not bothering to turn on the light as he dropped her on the bed and came down with her. He leaned down and his lips went to her neck, leaving a trail of sloppy kisses that made her body tense and her teeth bite into her bottom lip. Her hands to her back and her nails dragged against his shoulder blades, her able to feel the hard muscles from years of hard work through his shirt. He brought his knee against her crotch.

"Oh fuck." She moaned involuntarily, feeling his grin against the soft skin of her neck, he pressed his knee against her with a little more firmness, another series of long, needy moans from her followed after.

She tipped his head up so she could kiss him again, fully aware of his growing erection nudging against her stomach. He grabbed the hem of her shorts and underwear, she lifted her hips up as he tugged them completely down, leaving her fully naked under him. He stopped a moment to look at her, she had a petite body, her skin naturally a soft tan color, a few small tattoos drunken nights we're scattered around the expanse of otherwise unblemished skin.

He was back on her again, her breathing already heavy as she tried pulling off his shirt. He slipped out of it and her hands went roaming, feeling over hard muscle and scars that surely told a thousands stories after he lifted her onto his lap and undid the button and zipper of his jeans.

"Wait, wait." She said suddenly, pressing her hands against his chest, "I haven't been on the pill for a while."

"Yeah?" He replied, sounding mildly irritated that she suddenly stopped him.

She sighed, speaking firmly, "If you don't have a condom you're gonna be walking back with blue balls." He stared at her for a long moment before smiling, liking her brashness, before reaching into his back pocket and grabbing a rubber, she raised a brow, "We're you planning this?"

Trevor smirked, "I'd been wanting to fuck you since I saw you. Had to be prepared, I am a gentleman after all."

She smiled, waiting as he slid the condom on his exposed cock. He grabbed her hips quickly and lifted her up a little before he brought her back down, thrusting deep into her. She let out a quiet groan, her eyes fluttering shut as she got used to the sensation on him being inside her, he wasn't incredibly big she noticed beforehand, but it was plenty good enough as she got the feel of his covered length inside her.

His mouth pressed against her collar-bone as he pushed up his hips to meet hers with short groans, she in turn met his energy with a roll of her own hips, her nails digging into the flesh of his back. He didn't take long to pick up quick pace. They're breath shortened and their heart raced. Natalie's moans filled her trailer, her fingers like claws against the older man's back, which brought him closer and closer to the edge. He adjusted their position pressing her back against the bed, her legs still wrapped tight against his hips.

The thrusts into his came hard and quick, hitting her so perfectly she was gone, her world silent and loud at the same time, her mind blank but rushing, her body so tight and stiff she shook while she felt that Trevor met his own release, his face contorted to an almost pained look. Their bodies were tense and all at once the tension left them, Trevor near collapsing on top of her.

It was silent between them besides the heavy breaths from their comedown. He pulled himself away from her, pulling and tying off the condom and tossing it in her small trash bin in her bedroom, adjusted his jeans back up on his hips and grabbing his shirt, not bothering to put it back on.

She didn't say goodbye, too tired to do much of anything beside watch him leave as he mentioned coming back with a shipment soon, she smiled to herself, secretly prideful to see the red marks across his back that she made.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Trevor became more frequent in Natalie's life than she imagined he would be. Their relationship that had once been purely business and the occasional flirting had advanced into one that involved late nights together in her trailer. He would usually leave right after sex, always having something to do, but occasionally when he was too inebriated to make it out the front door he would sleep in bed with her until the early hours of afternoon.

Trevor probably didn't know it or he most likely wouldn't stick around, but he was a cuddler in his sleep. Nat didn't particularly mind when she felt his muscled arm wrapped around her waist in the wee hours of the morning, in fact she enjoyed the comfort he gave her. He kept her warm during the chilly nights and she felt a lot safer when he was around, even the gun he had given her, now laying on her bedside table, didn't give her the same sense of protection.

She received a handgun from him the day after they had discussed her need for one. In the two weeks she had it she practiced every day during her free time, whether it was at the shooting range just two doors down from her at the local Ammunation or out in depths of the desert to shoot down a few empty cans and bottles. In her efforts Natalie found herself to be a fairly steady shot, hitting her target slightly more than she missed. She knew with further know-how she would be able to hold her own with her gun, though she often worried if a handgun was enough to protect her if The Lost decided to stop by for another visit.

Natalie had woken up rather earlier than she was used to to find Trevor had already woken up and gotten out of bed. She found him with his back turned to her, pulling his jeans up to fit back around his hips and then buckling his belt. He heard her stir in bed, turning back around to face her, giving her his usual look over before greeting her with a; "Morning."

She tossed the blanket off of her, stretching out her entire body in a cat like manner that was followed by a long yawn, she glanced over to him through half lidded eyes to find how intently he was watching the full view of her naked skin. A smile crept across her face and she rested her head in her hand, "Come back to bed." She cooed, not ready to face the day just yet and also wanting to see if sober morning sex with the great Trevor Philips was just as good as -if not better than- the clumsy night sex they often had.

He didn't speak for a moment, looking like he was seriously considering it, before shaking his head no, along with shaking away any intrusive thoughts that came with the sight of his naked business partner and bed mate, "I can't, I need to be in Vespucci before noon." He explained, pulling out a scratched up cell from from the pocket of his jeans.

She let out a long groan, falling back onto her back with her arms splayed above her head, "Do it later, I'm not done."

Trevor smirked, his phone in his hand as he typed away to someone idly, despite the small distraction, he looked incredibly tempted to ditch his clothes once more, "You looked pretty done last night when I had to carry you back to bed."

She smiled, shrugging a little and sitting up, knowing her current nudity was going to eventually get her what she wanted, but the brunette would rather have him sooner, so she continued, "I just had to take a power nap, I'm good now." She reached out to him with her good hand, speaking softly "Come back to bed, Trev."

He had only stared at her for a long moment, debating whether he actually could before he groaned, crawling back into bed and sitting in between her legs, grabbing her by her thighs and forcing her to lay again. She yelped in response, but the smile on her face only grew. He meanwhile had grabbed his phone again, glancing down at him and he scrolled through at her, "You're gonna have to tell him I'm not coming."

"Trust me, I'll make sure you come." She laughed at her own joke, calming back down after a moment, "Why do I have to call him? Michael?"

He pushed his phone into her hand, the number already dialed and ringing, the screen saying it was addressed to Michael, "Because-" He began, settling himself into a laying position between her legs, dragging her closer to him, "I'll be busy."

The brunette went wide eyed, reaching down to push him away but he shoved her hand back, "Wait- no, Trevor-" She interrupted herself with a moan she tried so desperately to hide as she felt a long lick go across her most sensitive area, but came loud and clear through the receiver just as Michael picked up his phone.

There was a silent pause on the other line, no doubt Michael dumbfounded by the greeting, "...Trevor?" He finally answered, she glanced down to see her partner grinning against her skin, knowing his best friend was on the other end.

Natalie went to hang up the phone, her face red with embarrassment. The older man pulled back for a second and gave her a hard look that made her stop, "Don't." He commanded, pulling her back against his mouth.

Her eyes rolled back into her head just as one of his fingers slipped inside of her. She bit hard onto her bottom lip to the point she made little indentations into her skin in hopes that she could suppress another moan. She saw him look back up at her again, then the phone, urging her to continue, which she did, "H-hey, uh.. M-Michael... it's Nata-" A shiver shook through her entire body when Trevor's tongue made contact with her clit. She sank farther into her bed, her free hand reaching down and gripping into his thinning hair.

"Is this a good time?" Michael sounded like he was in disbelief. Perhaps not on Trevor's part, this shenanigan was something very predictable. But the thought of a woman Mike had only ever met once being on the other line in the throws of a pleasure provided by his friend was something he hadn't planned to wake up to that day.

Natalie winced at his tone, her face a bright, cherry red by then. She looked down to see Trevor was watching her, which only made her all the more embarrassed. She moaned again when she felt another of his fingers slip inside of her, pumping in and out of her rhythmically. She spoke up again, trying so desperately to make it seem like nothing was happening, but all in vain, "Uhh.. yeah, um, Tre-Trevor is going to be a little... uh, late."

She could head him laughing through his disbelief, "You're kidding me right? Alright, sure." He hung up at that.

Natalie let out a large sigh in relief, tossing the phone onto the bed and covering her face to hide her humiliation. Trevor didn't stop when she hung up, but she was plenty able to feel his enjoyment on his face between her legs, "You asshole.." She groaned, running her hand through his hair only to tug him closer.

The room filled with her uninterrupted sighs and gasps of pure ecstasy as he worked his magic. Upon a momentary glance at him she noticed he was jerking himself off simply to the act of eating her out. She blushed, unable to help him as an orgasm began building within her. She rocked her hips up against his mouth, the sounds of her pleasure echoing through her home. Soon she was unable to contain herself, and she rocketed off into her own world, barely hearing or feeling when Trevor found his own release, effectively making a mess of the bedsheets.

She was panting, wiping the sweat off her brow during her comedown. She found him crawling up to her, giving a firm, sloppy kiss against the side of her neck, which she responded to with a warm, satisfied sigh. "You're fucking amazing.." She said in between heavy breaths, watching as he tucked his shaft away and laid down on his side beside her.

He closed his eyes momentarily, grinning, "Mmm, don't I know."

She smiled, reaching for a pack of cigarettes. He didn't like the habit, but found no will to protest for the time being. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" She teased, looking for her lighter until she gave up and swiped the one from his pocket.

He rolled onto his back, looking her over for a moment, still as appreciative of her looks as ever, "No. I'm not done with you yet."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Janet was quite possibly the greatest woman Natalie and the rest of Sandy Shores had ever had the immense pleasure to experience. For a near uncountable amount of years the redhead had been the den mother and bartender to the drunken, sunburned, and weary of the barren countryside.

Her face had grown stern and harder than steel throughout the years of providing for the chronically inebriated. She had a tough look about her, and even though they residents hadn't seen her throw a punch since the 90's, they we're sure her swing could take down anyone that pushed her to the limit. Despite her don't-fuck-with-me nature, when she saw that someone truly needed it, they could hear her voice soften and even a feel a few dollars slip into their pocket when she felt life was being too hard on them.

When Natalie was hired to be a helping hand at The Yellow Jack, she found soon enough that she loved Janet well more than her own parents. Janet was the toughest woman she had ever met and she loved being close to her on her work days. Janet found comfort in Nat as well, Janet was ailed with the inability to bear children, not that she minded; she never found much of a maternal urge. But if Janet was to have a child, she would want it to be her.

When the brunette had returned from her kidnapping and the resulting hospital visit, Janet was more than willing to give her as much free time as she needed to heal her wounds. Natalie however pushed passed being coddled and went to work not long after she returned. Even though Nat and her boss didn't speak much since her return, Janet already knew something was up between her 'adoptive' daughter and Trevor. As all knowing as she seemed to be, the younger girl was pretty sure Janet had known the second she hooked up with him.

The redhead wasn't necessarily fond of the idea of a person she cared for getting close and personal with a man with a rapidly growing body count. However, she knew Natalie was stronger than she thought she was and could do what needed to be done if he ever tried to screw her over.

Natalie had no intention of leaving her legitimate job with Janet even when it turned out Trevor paid better than her salary and tips at the bar. She enjoyed her job, enjoying her boss, and the occasional free shot she would take, and she wasn't going to quit a lesser paying job when money became increasingly tighter.

She found herself behind the bar on a particularly boring day, Janet was working the same shift as her, and they talked idly to each other during a slow day. They would both be lying if they said they weren't a little drunk, both of them sneaking shots every so often when they weren't serving others. They're conversations usually came to something crude, in which Janet would quickly try to quiet it down as to not hear anyone else, in which her younger friend would be left in a fit of giggles to see her mother figure blush.

A man had come in, someone Natalie had seen before, but never thought much of. She was sure she'd seen everyone in Sandy Shores at least once so it wasn't a surprise to see him cross by. He looked young, maybe Nat's age, maybe younger. He was amazingly tall and thin, with messy, medium length, brown hair that was shaved into an undercut. She saw a scatter of tattoos along his arms, definitely a turn on for her.

He was cute, definitely, in an awkward, innocent manner. He saw her upon his arrival and gave a small, polite smile. She returned it, her buzzed state dictated he was cute enough to go home with. So as he found a seat at the bar, she poured him a drink and gave him a smile that made many a man feel weak in the knees. She knew by his gentle, nervous laugh at her flirtatious advances, she already had him hook, line, and sinker.

–

Natalie woke up in a place she hadn't been before. The sun was bright through the window beside her, far too bright for her hangover. She groaned and rolled over onto her stomach, grabbing the pillow beside her and hiding herself from the waking world. She remembered she went home with the guy from the bar, his name was Jessie, she later found out, but that was the most she could really remember. She guessed they had sex, despite him not laying beside her, her body was still naked and she had that pleasant soreness that followed a night of rough sex.

She decided after awhile she should probably leave so she heaved herself up from the mess they made of the bed, wincing at the sunlight again but this time toughing it out. She exited the bedroom to find her clothes scattered across what she presumed to be Jessie's trailer. It was plain and messy, not far off from a typical male's trailer, though she didn't mind, having seen it all before. She collected what she thought to be all of her clothes and put them on, finding her shoes by the door.

Also by the door was a little photo frame that seemed to be one of the very few decorations of the trailer. It was a picture of Jessie and another man. Jessie looked a few years younger than he did now and the man beside quiet possibly was his brother. Both were holding a beer and smiling to the camera. The man, whom she didn't know was wearing a leather biker's vest, which unsettled her to no end. Sure, there were plenty of biker gangs to be had in San Andreas, and thousands more in the US, his brother belonging to any number of them wasn't a stretch. But still, the thought of a biker, any biker, wasn't pleasant to her.

Natalie grabbed her house keys from her pocket, wondering how far the walk was back home from where she was before she opened the door. She took one step out and stood frozen in place immediately as her heart damn near stopped. She had only seen this place in passing, but knew exactly what it was; Stab City. The local residents, who consisted almost entirely of The Lost MC sat together in groups, doing a bit of early drinking and in general partying, having a good time. She however was filled with terror, her breath fast paced and aching while she tried her best not to cry or shake right then and there. Her eyes darted around, trying to convince herself that she could get out of this without anyone seeing her run away.

Before she could even make a proper decision she heard her name called, she quickly looked over to find Jessie flagging her down, grinning from ear to ear. He was with others in his own little group, several wearing their patches. She swallowed the massive lump in her throat, her feet mechanically leading drawing her towards his direction. She figured her playing the part of unassuming was better than her running away screaming.

When she made her way into the circle Jessie threw an arm around her shoulders, shoving a beer in her hand, "See? I told you she was pretty!" He said proudly, a couple of the people around them giving their hoots and hollers in agreement with him, "Nat, this is my loving family." He gestured towards each person, stating their names but she barely listened.

On the outside she looked pleasant and happy to meet them, but on this inside she was a screaming, sobbing mess, "Hey everyone." She took a sip of the beer handed to her, barely tasting it however, "Nice to me you all."

Jessie grinning, squeezing her tighter to his side and giving her a firm kiss on her cheek, "Ain't she great?"

The conversation among them went on without much of her involvement. She was still attached to her bed mate's side, unaware of the sniveling mess she was about to become if she didn't leave Stab City soon. By the looks of it, none of them recognized her, which was a blessing in itself, thanking whatever heavenly being that made the people who held her captive keep their mouth's shut about the whole thing. But she knew she shouldn't push her luck any further and went to excuse herself back to her own home when her eyes found a familiar face.

He looked just as he did a month ago and he was staring right back at her across the dirty road that connected the series of trailers occupying Stab City together. It was the one of the men who held her captive, the one oozing with a superiority complex, the one who took off her finger. He said nothing to the rest of his circle of friends and despite his unreadable expression she knew damn well he knew who she was.

She had figured he was shot down with the rest of his friend's at Hookies. But no, he was in front of her, getting a read on her like she was a piece of machinery. His eyes were lingering on her bandaged hand before she quickly turned to Jessie, who -like the rest of the small circle- were completely unaware of her skyrocketing anxiety.

"I have to go." She said quickly, her nervousness slipping out slightly, she silently cursed herself, "Sorry, I just forgot I have work today."

She was lying, but they couldn't seem to tell, Jessie offering to drive her back home to which she declined. He kissed her once more on the cheek, promising he'd see her soon, she made her leave finally after he pushed her into giving him her number. She began walking out of Stab City, not looking back until she reached the main road, seeing if the man who often lead her night terrors was still looking. He was, and when he caught sight of her looking right back at him again he flashed her a sinister, toothy smile with a look in her eyes that turned her blood cold. She whipped her head back, continuing to walk when she felt like running.

Only when she was sure that no one was watching was when she decided to race down the road. She wasn't sure how far she was planning to go, or if she was even going fast, but she found herself somewhere towards the mountains finding the tunnel that drilled into the mountain and hiding herself behind a nearby tree, hoping it was enough to keep her relatively safe as she was trying to collect her scrambled thoughts.

She had no clue if they were going to go after her again, but the thought of waiting and seeing was unappealing and left her nauseous. Before Nat knew it she found herself with her phone in her hand, already dialing in Trevor's number. Getting him involved was the best idea she could think of and with the gun not with her at the moment, he seemed her only option.

After a few rings he picked out, sounding a little annoyed to be woken up, but she ignored it, "Trevor, I need you." She nearly yelled into the receiver of her phone, doing a quick look around to be sure no one was near by.

He was quiet for a moment, seeming to be doing something else, before growling out his response, "This sounds like some weird foreplay."

"Trevor!" She yelped, nearly choking on his name in her panic, "I-I fucked up really, really bad. I woke up with The Lost but I got out, I'm in Grapeseed."

"Wait- what?" He sounded like he was in disbelief, "Run that by me again."

She took a huge breath, trying as much as she could to get her nerves under control, "Last night, I went home with a guy... woke up in Stab City. No one recognized me there, except the guy, one of the guys who kidnapped me. He saw me. He might come back to get me, Trevor." She let her control on herself slip on the last part, sounding like a pitiful child.

"Do you have your gun on you?" He replied quickly, getting the seriousness of her situation, sounding like he was getting ready to get her.

She winced, "No..."

"Jesus, Natalie." Trevor said with obvious irritation in his voice, "Y'know, I didn't get you that gun for the fun of it."

She dragged a hand over her face, knowing she was going to get hell for leaving her house unprotected, "I know, Trevor, I'm sorry... Please help me." She begged, trying her best not to sound as downright pitiful as she felt to no avail.

"I'm already on my way Natalie, where are you?"

She glanced around, biting her lip idly as she got a proper sense of her surroundings, "I'm just off North Calafia Way, right beside the tunnel."

She didn't hear a goodbye, just him hanging up. She dropped her phone by her side, raking her hands through her hair and taking deep breaths to try to calm down. She knew if she was going to get out of this, out of everything, relatively alright then she needed to toughen up. This ordeal with The MC wasn't going to go away quickly so she had to formulate some sort of emotional game plan.

She was tired of letting her emotions get the best of her, despite how reasonable it was that sometimes she couldn't sleep for days and how often it set her heart racing to hear a motorcycle pass by. But now she had to be strong; if they came back for her it was life or death. And when the time came, she hoped she was ready to take a life to save her own instead of falling back on the defending graces of her boss.

The brunette heard a large vehicle stop nearby, making her heart nearly stop. She dared to take a peek behind her hiding spot, hoping it was Trevor. As she glanced behind the tree she saw the giant rusting truck that she only ever saw her boss ride around in. She quickly swiped her phone off the ground and got up just as he hopped out of the driver's side.

He looked her over like he always did, but this time she got the sense that he was seeing if she was alright, "You look like hell." Was all he said as she climbed into the passengers seat.

"Sorry." Was all she said, she did a quick look around to see if he had been followed as if he wouldn't already do that. Still, it calmed her down to see that they were alone.

He climbed in, watching her intently as she fastened her seat belt, speaking with sarcasm, "So you decided it would be a good idea to go home with one of The Lost?"

She frowned, wrapping her arms around himself, "I don't think he's a member, maybe a friend or something, he wasn't wearing a vest."

He spoke again with irritation, "Maybe you shouldn't jump into bed with just anyone considering people are out there to butcher you and you can't even protect yourself."

She winced, knowing he had a point, but resenting his tone, so she argued, "Look at yourself Trevor, god knows you've slept with most of Blaine County's meth population."

The older man shot her a look, a dark, hateful look brewing inside his eyes, something that made her nervous, "Well you see, sweetheart, the difference between you and I is that I don't come running to someone else if I get myself into some shit. If I end up fucking a psycho, I can handle it."

She frowned, gritting her teeth a little, trying to find some way to defend herself but coming up short. The brunette slowly calmed, sighing, defeated, "You're right."

He watched her for a moment, his fingers twitching on the wheel, looking like he was getting ready for a blowout of an argument that was cut short. He debated whether to continue to rip into her or let it be, he chose the later, taking a breath, "That sounded like it tasted like vinegar." Trev reached for the glove box, opening it up and handing her a gun that she recognized as his own, she turned it over in her hands as he spoke back up, "Do not go anywhere without it." He commanded, sounding almost like he was speaking to a disobedient child.

She frowned deeply, but nodded, turning it over in her hands, getting a feel for it once more, "What's going to happen now?"

Trevor was looking towards the road, "You can't stay here."

She looked back at him, "What?"

He glanced back at her momentarily, "You can't stay in Sandy Shores and expect to live, not now. We're going to find you somewhere to hide for awhile."

Natalie frowned, quiet for a moment, as much as she wanted to stay in Sandy Shores, he had a point, again. The thought of her going into hiding wasn't ideal, knowing she'd have to leave without letting Janet or Rebecca know she was going to be away, but she had to make that sacrifice if she wanted to survive, "Where?" She finally spoke up, looking to him.

The young girl saw he cared, not just by actions but by his general patience about the trouble she seemed to keep finding herself in. She wondered if it was a genuine care for her well-being or if he was just defending a pawn for a grander scheme of things.

She saw him running over thoughts in his head for a moment, before he answered vaguely, "I think I have somewhere in mind. I hope you like LS much more than I do."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Natalie stood outside a posh home nestled in the rolling landscape of Vinewood Hills with a large box of her things tucked in her arms. As far as going into hiding went, she didn't expect to hole up in a place that cost more than most of Sandy Shores, but she wasn't going to complain. She glanced back towards the road to finding Trevor lifting her other cardboard box from the Bohdi's truck bed, this one consisting of her clothing. She turned back to her temporary residence, walking into the door already opened for her.

She barely had time to pack up for her disappearing act, Trevor had already sent a message to Ron to get what she needed for her indefinite leave, so when they got to her little trailer her clothing and various amenities were already ready. She mentally cringed at the thought of Ron rifling through her underwear drawer, but didn't think of it much more than that, it wasn't the time to be prude. Luckily, despite Trevor rushing her to get back into the truck, she was able to swipe a few things she wanted to keep around her, like a few old photographs of her and old friends, most probably haven't even thought of her in years.

She wondered if all this was even worth it, all the way to when she made her great escape from suburbia to her humble beginnings as a drifter. She had wanted to travel and be free, but now she was sleeping with and hiding from a gang that wanted her dead. Sure, the idea of making her own nuclear family with a picket fence house made her queasy, she would most definitely live a hell of a lot longer and almost assuredly safer.

Sleep was all too difficult to come by for her nowadays, her eating habits were at a minimum and sometimes she would stare off into space for hours on end and not even realize it. She wasn't built for the life she wanted, she understood that now. But she couldn't run back away into the arms of the parents and town she pushed away, not that she wanted to, so she was left with her unfit instincts and the gun secured in the waistband of her shorts.

She owned that damn gun for a good amount of time by then. But since leaving for Los Santos it felt one-hundred pounds heavier knowing that she would have to use it if they were to find her, and that she had to make that shot count for something if she planned to live.

She went into the living room of the sprawling, luxury home to find Franklin; the man who helped save her life. She smiled, happy to see him again, despite only knowing each other from when she felt dead and almost looked it. He had been willing to spare his guest bedroom when he heard the basics of her situation. He welcomed her in warmly, offering to take her clothes downstairs for her while she explored and settled in. She politely declined, her and Trevor heading downstairs, finding her room. She had to take a second to herself, seeing how her room seemed to bleed excess, it had to be one of the nicest places she ever imagined she would call her temporary home and lay her head down at night, that is if she could manage to sleep.

The smaller girl turned to Trev, who looked rather unimpressed with the sleek beauty of her temporary residence. He sat the box tucked under his arm beside her closet. She bit her lip, debating whether to speak, "Thank you, Trevor." She said softly, not even a fraction of her gratitude able to be expressed through words.

He shrugged, looking down at her, taking the box in her arms and setting it down for her. He only gave a grunt in response, something told her people didn't usually express any form of thanks to him. She decided to change the subject, "How long do you think I'll be here?"

He glanced around, checking out the place, already heading back upstairs, she followed, "Not sure, we have to see if they're even coming for you at all."

She bit her lip, "Don't you think they'll check here? I mean, Franklin's your friend and all..."

Trevor shook his head, "The Lost aren't very smart. Even if they do decide to come poking around, Franklin can handle a couple of junkies. You got your gun?" She lifted the handgun out of her waistband, holding it out to him, he looked satisfied with her answer, "Don't leave the house, until we're sure they're not looking for you."

She grimaced, the idea of being housebound for a while seemed like hell, but being chained and beaten was worse. She made a glance to the oversized windows that lined the Franklin's house, saying a silent goodbye to the sun for a while, "Okay." Was all she could manage to say, looking back to the taller man, wondering how long it would be until she would see him again. She had a feeling he wasn't one to stop by for visits.

There wasn't much else to be said between them and after some discussion between the boys, Trevor left in his Bohdi. Franklin had welcomed her in right after, being as friendly as she hoped he would be. He offered to get some food from an Italian place nearby, but she politely declined, she needed some time to get used to her new room.

Natalie ventured back downstairs and into the guest room. It was large and already well furnished. She looked to the side of the box that had her clothes, she wondered if she should unpack, but figured she could do it later. Franklin had put up some new curtains over her windows just in case someone went snooping around in the backyard.

She let out a soft breath, sitting herself down on her bed and falling back down on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, seeing no yellowing from cigarette smoke or mysterious brown stains from previous owners. It was weird to her, being in a town for 5 years that made filth a part of its charm, she almost forgot what clean looked like. Even the sheets felt nice under her fingertips, maybe Franklin still did routine cleaning despite this room's lack of use.

As far as running away from a gang that robbed and killed for fun, staying here didn't seem too bad. It of course was going to be tough not being able to go out and enjoy the weather or go out to pick up a pack of cigarettes (although Frank would probably have it covered). But there was no point in fretting now; she was probably going to play the waiting game for awhile, so she had to do something while she did. She got back up, beginning to unpack.

–

Natalie fell asleep that night, but did not do so peacefully. She dreamed she was alone in a place of infinite blackness, where, no matter where she walked, it was just her, alone. Even then she felt a presence, like something was still following her inching closer. As whatever it was drawing near, her walk went into a run and then a full out sprint. She could feel it right behind her, sure if it had breath, it would come heavy on the back of her neck. Hands wrapped around her, they felt bony almost skeletal. She imagined it was death taking her.

She ventured out of her new room by midnight after she decided tonight wasn't the night to get well rested, climbing up the stairs into the living room. She didn't expect to find Franklin there but he was, sitting on one side of the L-shaped couch that sat in front of an impressively large TV posted on the wall. He seemed to be idly watching the current Reality TV sensation on the news explain how her new southern accent was completely natural, looking up when he saw his new roommate enter. He gave a lazy smile, "Hey, Natalie."

She sat on the other side of his couch, pointing at the beer hanging loosely in his hand, "Can I have one of those?"

He glanced down at his beer for a moment like he forgot about it, before nodding quickly, "Yeah, you don't even need t'ask."

The brunette smiled, nodding her thanks, standing and heading towards the kitchen. She found a case tucked in the bottom shelf of the fridge. She grabbed one for herself and unscrewed the cap, heading back to the living room and returning to her spot on the couch. The TV was now showing something about a robbery now, she had a strange feeling Trevor and Franklin might very well have something to do with it.

"I don't think I thanked you for letting me stay here." She spoke up again when nothing interesting on the TV seemed to be on at the moment.

Frank looked back at her once more, "Oh, don't worry about it, dog. I'm hardly here anyway, figure someone could get some use out of this place."

Natalie smiled a little and sank back into her seat, feeling she didn't need to speak more. He seemed friendly enough, she didn't see why she felt so uncomfortable here. Sure, the reasons were unpleasant, but this was the best was to stay hidden and out of the way while Trevor stomped out the what remained of the gang.

She had to think positively about it, she miles away, a man who was willing to do anything was hunting down the people who hurt her, she had Franklin by her side, who looked well experienced with a gun, and she had a gun on her own, one that she very well wouldn't have to use in order to return safely to her little home in the mass expanse of desert north of Los Santos.

The young girl turned her attention towards the TV, she was done thinking for the night. Now, all she had to do was let Trevor do what he did best.


	10. Chapter 10

p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Chapter 10/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"August 2006/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Natalie's fingers drummed against the wheel of the car her buddy Aaron had stolen from his parents. She kept throwing glances at the liquor store she parked in front of, fearing that her friends had somehow been taken down. Her fist clenched and she hit the wheel, knowing she shouldn't have trusted them./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The brunette had only a few people she could call her friends in all of San Andreas and all of them had the same ideals of a more dangerous, exciting life. Little did she know they would eventually leave behind that gal for domestication./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"And most of them had cornered her and convinced her to be their ride for their stickup job. So all 4 of them piled into the station wagon and made their way to pillage for booze and petty cash. She was tasked with what they said was the easiest part of the job, but secretly they chose her because she was the only one who didn't have a single accident on their record./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She heard the door to the store they had planned to rob swing open, the boys running out, in their arms were bags full of alcohol and those days earnings. They rushed back into the car, yelling at her to start driving. Nat slammed her foot on the gas and the car lurched and then sped forward. She glanced at the rear view mirror and saw the owner of the store come running out just as they sped away. She felt a tinge of guilt for the guy, she knew the store wasn't doing too well, but she ignored it. It was too late to feel bad about it, she did it and she knew even if the what they gained from it wasn't worth the effort, the adventure of it was./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She made a sharp turn left to head towards the highway and hide among the 18-wheelers, running a red light that got a few car horns going from pissed off motorists. Her crew was dead silent while she sped away, the tension and nervousness was palpable inside the car, everyone waiting until they were in the clear./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Natalie made a few more turns, they all jostled and pressed against the doors from how reckless she was driving until the last turn to speed out of Paleto was in sight. She could feel her friends leaning forward, their breaths catching in their throats. A grin crept across her face, she couldn't believe they were almost in the clear./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She ignored her turn signal once more, quickly turning the wheel but was unable to miss the passing police cruiser responding to the robbery. She slammed right into the side, effectively T-boning the cruiser. The air bags went up, she could feel the sharp pain of glass and her seat belt biting into her torso. Cursing was heard from the back of the car as her two friends hit head first into the back of the front seats./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She slowly sat back to see what she had done. There were two officers in the cruiser she smacked right into, they looked okay but still dazed from what had happened. Her friends cursed and complained of their broken loot and no means of escape. She felt her heart drop down into her stomach, feeling nothing but the awful sensation of having fucked up big /br /"What the fuck are you doing?" She heard her friend Aaron bark at her from the passenger's seat. She didn't even notice herself reaching for the mask on his /br /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She swiped it off his head, fitting it on herself instead before she unfastened her seat belt and scrambled out of the car. She heard her out of commission friends yelling at her as she bailed out. She wasn't going to jail for some booze, no way, she couldn't. She ran, having nothing she needed so leaving everything behind. She ran straight out of Paleto, her feet pounding on pavement until she made it to the nearby forest. Only stopping and checking if she'd been followed after she dove into a bush. She heard sirens, but none come towards her./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The brunette sank down onto the forest floor and ripped the mask back off her head, not caring about the damp sinking into her clothes or the leaves tangling themselves in her hair. She looked up towards the obscured sky as she caught her breath. Her heart ached from failure and the overexertion, her lungs felt like they burned when she breathed. She looked back towards the direction she fleed, feeling a sickly feeling from fleeing her crew, but if they had been in the position she was, she was sure they would do the same./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She got back up after what felt like hours, the sun was setting and she had a long walk back home. If she even wanted to go home. What could be waiting for her in Paleto made her beyond nervous, but she had no place to go except for the seaside suburbia. She decided then and there that she needed to leave. Natalie had no means of escape, but perhaps maybe a month tops staying with her parents would be enough to provide her what she needed. But only if her friends didn't rat her out, and she prayed they didn't./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"-/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She sat on one of the little bar stool by the kitchen's island. She had spent most the day taking care of laundry, and now that the last load tumbled in the dryer she took a break. She found an older bottle of wine hidden in the cabinets by the stove, Franklin didn't seem like much of a wine snob, so she assumed it was left behind from the previous owner. She decided to try it out and have more than just one glass, after all, drinking was a rather enjoyable vice of hers and she was never above day drinking. She looked over a fashion magazine that was dated a year back, once again, left behind by previous owners./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Looking over the magazine page she found a tall, slender woman in a strapless red dress that hugged the model's thin curves perfectly, she had a black and white fur coat wrapped around her that was so large it could've very well been the same weight as her. She looked to the dress with mild envy. She couldn't help it, she always had a taste for fashion despite her wardrobe being mostly tank tops and booty shorts. Still, she sometimes dreamed of going to events where an evening gown was required, but would shake them away. That wasn't the life for her, she chose a dirty life, and mud was difficult to get out of fur./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Natalie figured she was getting her taste of excess by spending the past two weeks with Frank. It had been a breeze despite the fact that sleep was still hard to come by. But there seemed to be plenty to do in the house to keep her occupied when her bed gave no comfort. She felt safe there, in the first few days she stayed vigilant for the sound of motorcycles coming by, but the only one that seemed to come near was Franklin's./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"So she let her hair down a little, her gun was still always by her side just as Trevor had told her to do, becoming almost a companion to her. There was no way of her practicing her aim while she was stuck there and she silently worried that her already low skill was getting rusty, however, she seemed to have reloading and clicking the safety on and off down to a science./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Trevor hadn't spoken to her since her left her behind and she feared he had forgotten her. Frank reassured her plenty despite the fact she had never voiced those fears to anyone but Chop, who she would often spend time with to dull the loneliness. Frank had caught up with Trevor a few times for small jobs, but there was no update on the situation in Sandy Shores. Natalie had expected something to happen by then, even if it meant The Lost pulling into the driveway, but it seemed this was going to take much longer than she thought./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Her train of thought was interrupted with Frank coming through the door. He smiled at her in greeting, she was a welcome face in his home by then. She had done more than her share in helping around the house when he never asked her to, they became friends quickly, "Hey Natalie, did you make dinner?"br /br /She shook her head, turning a page to another fashion spread, "Nope, not yet." She usually did make dinner, another gift to Franklin for being a gracious host./p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"He lifted a large plastic bag in his hand, "Don't worry about it, I got take out from Sal's."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Natalie felt a grin grow across her face, he had ordered from there before and got her some kind of lobster stuffed ravioli that was the best she ever had. She closed her magazine and grabbed the bag from him, taking out the series of boxes and grabbing plates for them, he chuckled, "You don't have to serve me, you know."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She smiled and shrugged, getting his plate set up anyways before handing it over to him, he said a quick thanks and made his way to the couch. She followed soon enough and handed him over a beer from the fridge, having gotten one for herself along with her own plate. She sat down, turning on the TV, "Oh, Lamar called, his message is on the machine. He mentioned something about a girl named Tanisha."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The satisfied look on his face from his food change to a small frown, "Oh." Was all he said, the tone in his voice piqued her /br /She raised a brow, speaking with food in her mouth, "Who's Tanisha?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"He frowned a little more, sipping his beer to either wash down his food or delay his answer, but she couldn't tell, "Old friend of mine."br /br /She blinked, there was the edge of coldness when he spoke, "Did she screw you over or something."br /br /Frank laughed, it didn't sound like there was much humor in it, "You could say that." He sighed, looking to his food, he didn't look too hungry anymore, "She was my girlfriend up until she figured she was too good for me."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;""Oh." Was all she could say at first, before shaking her head, "What a bitch."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"He let out another laugh, this time with humor at her sudden brashness. His body had tensed at the mention of his ex but now he relaxed, resting back into the couch, "Well I wouldn't say all that..."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She smiled at him, glad she got the mood back, "You deserve better, Frank." She said with finality, sitting her plate down on the coffee table, she got up and went into the kitchen, "This beer isn't doing it for me, want something stronger?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"He looked at his bottle before looking back at her and nodding, abandoning his food as well and following her into the kitchen, "Yeah, I think I got something."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"The taller man rifled through a cupboard to find a nice large bottle that was sure to get them the perfect amount of dizzy and /br /They didn't bother to return back to the living room, finding themselves a seat on top of the island where they could share their bottle. Franklin gestured to the magazine still lying there, "Do you want me to get you another one of those?"br /br /She shook her head, taking the first sip of her share, it was strong and burned before it even went down her throat, "No, its okay, I found plenty."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"Franklin took the bottle from her, "I didn't think you liked that sort of thing..." He took a drink before he realized what he said, "I mean, you dress good and all, but y'know, those 'high fashion' magazines just don't seem like your thing."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" /p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"She smiled, grabbing the bottle once again, "Nice save. I like them, I'd like to think I could pull off what they're wearing."br /br /He raised a brow, "You don't think you can?"br /br /She shook her head, "Too short, firstly. I don't have the bodies they have either. Plus the whole thing about cash."br /br /He laughed softly, "Man, every girl thinks they don't look good enough. You look great Natalie, you can wear whatever you want. Yknow, if you can afford it."/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"br /She grinned at him, nudging his arm with hers, handing him over the bottle, "You think I look great, Frank?"/p  
p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"br /He returned the grin, "Well I'm not blind. Yeah, you look great." He drank and then gave the bottle back, "So what's up with you and Trevor; why he care so much about keeping you safe? You two datin' or somethin'?"br /br /She laughed, "Oh hardly." She shook her head, making her laughter die down, "Well, I work for him. Hiding some stuff of his. I don't know why he cares so much, honestly. I know how he treats other people so it's kinda weird he's doing all this right?"br /br /He nodded, "Yeah, that's what I was thinkin'..." He smiled a little more, "Maybe he got a crush on you."br /br /"Like you do?" She teased /br /"What? Please." He smiled shaking his head, though something told her he might have been lying a little. Sure, as he said before, she looked great, and occasionally she would catch him looking at some part of her that he meant for her not to see. She saw it as innocent enough, not thinking into it much until just then. She wondered...br /br /She took another drink, this time drinking until the burn became too much and she winced away, "That didn't sound very confident, Frank."br /br /He smirked and shrugged lazily, "It is what it is."br /br /They didn't say much after, the deal seeming to be already planned out and set in their head. They drank together for only a short while until they both gained a decent buzz. They retired the bottle back into the cupboard before they ventured downstairs and into Franklin's bed room./p 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

She got her first good night's sleep lying in bed with Franklin. She woke and got up after noon, Frank had already left for the day when she collected her clothes off the floor. Sex with him was great, simply for the fact that there was nothing beyond a night of physical pleasure. Natalie had no desire for any romantics and Franklin had obvious hang-ups about his ex girlfriend. Natalie knew she played the part of rebound last night, but she didn't care.

She tossed her old clothes into her bedroom and grabbed a new set, she opted for more comfortable than appealing like she usually did nowadays since she wasn't allowed out. Nat ventured upstairs to the living room and to the TV to watch the news. She wasn't a fan of the news, she still wasn't. But it was the only source of info she really had about the outside world since Trevor pocketed her phone in case The MC turned out smart enough to track it.

The brunette wondered what Janet thought happened to her. She knew her adoptive mother thought the worst of her not-so-professional relationship with Trevor, so she feared that Janet thought she wasn't just missing, she was dead. But somehow she felt like she would know if her boss thought she passed, like the older redhead was some holy force that would send the world crumbling if something happened to her kin.

She was interrupted from her daily dose of celebrity gossip when Franklin's home phone rang. Natalie let it go to voice mail like she usually did. She was pretty sure Frank never even checked his mailbox anyways, but she let it save just in case it was important this time around.

The scripted voice ended and the beep rang through, there was a moment of silence before someone spoke up, someone familiar, "Hey, Natalie, I know you're there, they don't let you leave." Her blood ran cold when she realized who it was, the man who kept her captive. She always knew he had a bit more of a brain than his friends, but by then she thought she was in the clear. He continued, "You know if you don't answer I'll just have to come for a visit."

She found herself by the phone before she realized she had gone up and practically ran to the kitchen, her hand gripped onto the phone so tightly she might've shattered it if she was a bit stronger, "How'd you find me?"

She could almost hear him grinning from the other end, "Now, that doesn't matter. What matters is that I need to see you."

Natalie's head was pounding and her breath felt scarce, "I'm not leaving here."

There was a sigh, "It doesn't matter if you leave or not, I'm going to see you. We can make this easy or difficult. Up to you."

She frowned, running her free hand through her hair, feeling like ripping it out, "Won't I die either way?"

"True. But if you cooperate, then no one else has to die."

"You're going to have a hard time killing Trevor."

"Not Trevor. Rebecca. You know her, right?" As if he needed to ask, he knew he had her in the palm of his hand.

She felt sick to her stomach just then, dragging the trash bin closer just in case all the anxiety made her lose it. She couldn't hide the fear in her voice, "D-Don't hurt her."

"Then meet me at the Senora park, I don't like to be kept waiting." His line went dead immediately after, giving her no room to respond.

She dropped the phone on the counter, dropping down to the floor herself and crying. She didn't try to hold back or collect herself, just letting the pathetic sobs and wails echo through the house. She didn't want to move, she just wanted to cry. But she got up anyways, forcing herself to make it back to the living room and grabbing her gun off the couch all while crying.

Despite her blurred vision she found money lying around the home, she grabbed the phone again, dialing the local taxi service. The man on the other end sounded startled to hear someone whimper out their address to him, but he still did his job, telling her someone was nearby and would pick her up soon.

She looked at herself in the mirror before she went out the door. Her face was puffy and red, her eyes bloodshot and her hair was more mess than anything else. Despite that, she went out the door, wiping her nose on her sleeve and tucking her gun into the waistband of her sweatpants, waiting for the taxi to stop by and deliver her to the man who could probably kill her.

–

The drive back north was a long one, long enough for Natalie to regain her bearings. She spent most of the ride turning the gun over and over in her lap. It was her only means of escaping her fate and as much as she cursed herself for not even calling Franklin or Trevor to help her out, it was too late now. The brunette knew she had to face her foe alone.

The cabbie dropped her off right at the mouth of the dirt path that ran through the park. She could see Trevor's trailer from there, and if she ran there quick she could grab him before this little showdown occurred. But the lights were off and his truck was nowhere in sight. Yes, she was alone in this. Natalie turned back to the park, closing her eyes for a few moments. With a deep breath, she suddenly felt a little braver, willing her feet to walk forward and meet him.

She found him by a car near the center of the park, leaning against it and watching the last bits of sun disappear past the mountain. He looked at her when he heard her approach, a smile forming across his lips. He stood up properly and opened up his arms in a welcoming gesture, "I almost thought you weren't going to show."

She swallowed the lump in her throat but still managed to stand tall, "Well I'm here."

It wasn't hard to see the gun he held in his hand, but she looked more to his eyes. They were dark and hard to see in the dim light, but she still remembered them perfectly from her time with him, they were so dark brown they were almost black there was no warmth to be found in the hue, almost like his own abyss. He cocked his head to the side, "How's your hand doing?"

She pushed her left hand behind her back, it was still bandaged and healing from the damage he'd done, a constant reminder of him when she refused to sleep and meet him again in her night terrors, "Better." She hated how she only could give short answers, she needed time if she could ever give herself the courage to kill him before he killed her, "I never got your name."

He looked slightly aback, before laughing, "Haven't heard that one before." He calmed, crossing his arms, the gun still in his hand, "Evan."

"Evan." She repeated, more for herself. There was some strange relief for finding the name to her nightmares, "Where's..." She paused, trying to remember the name of the other man who caused her all this suffering, "Charlie?"

Evan grimaced, "On of your boys, the rich lookin' fella, shot him down."

"Oh."

He didn't like the response, flicking the safety off his gun, "Shall we get on with it then?" The brunette took a step back, her knees feeling weak. But she reached for her gun anyways, turning her safety off as quick as she could and holding it with two shaking hands. His eyebrows furrowed, his gaze turning into a glare, "Fucking bitch!" He yelled out, advancing on her quickly.

She yelped, aiming her gun as quickly as she could and shooting, but missing by a mile. It only pissed him off more as he neared closer. She back away quickly and lost her footing, just as she was about to tumble back his meaty fist collided into her nose and she screamed. Blood spurted out of her nose as her head smacked against the ground beneath them.

He was on top of her in a flash, grabbing for her gun and trying to pull it from her grip. She held on tight while her adrenaline kicked in and she felt new-found strength. The shorter girl's elbow slammed into his eyes, he cursed and threw another punch. This one weaker than the other but she barely felt it as she tried to aim the gun towards him. He gripped onto her hand with his, nearly crushing her fingers until her knee collided with his crotch.

Evan howled in pain, falling off of her and rolling onto his side as he tried to ease his pain. She scrambled up while he was distracted, aiming her gun again. He saw her advantage and quickly got up as well. She bit her lip and tried to aim well this time, "Well? What the fuck are you waiting for?" He snapped, his hands balling into fists, his gun having fallen beside her. She shot again and was closer this time, but missed again.

"Dammit!" She screamed at herself just as her tackled her back onto the ground. He had her pinned, his finger against her windpipe, choking the life out of her. She struggled for breath that wouldn't come, digging her nails into his arm and trying to rip him off with no luck. She saw in the corner of her vision his gun, just close enough for her to reach.

And so she did, with some struggle and her vision blurring into oblivion she managed to get a good hold onto the pistol. She squeezed her eyes shut as she drew the gun back towards them, pointing upwards and firing. The hold on her neck loosened and his body collasped full force on top of her, the gun pinned uncomfortably between them.

She shoved him off of her with all the strength she had, slowly sitting up and inspecting the body beside her. There was a bull that went right through his head, entering at the bridge of his nose and exiting out of the back of his head. She looked away and then closed her eyes, rubbing away the sensation his fingers left on her neck.

She slowly got up, dropping his gun and finding her own in the sand. Natalie felt somehow calm but robotic at the same time. She tucked her gun back into her waistband, looking back at Evan's body. Somehow his lifeless corpse still scared the shit out of her despite the fact he couldn't do any harm to her or Rebecca. Despite all that happened she didn't feel like crying, she just wanted to go home. She missed home so badly it made her heart ache.

She heard a car coming by, she looked back, surprised to see Trevor's Bohdi navigating through the rough terrain of the dirt path, stopping mere feet from where she stood the headlights illuminating her. Trevor hopped out, stalking over and stopping, looking her over and seeing the dirty, bloody mess she was, his gaze then fell on the body beside her, he let out a breath, "Jesus, you do that?"

She swallowed, nodding slowly, "How'd you find me?"

He looked back at her, the night too dark to see him properly, not sure how he felt, "Frank said you went missing, we tracked this fucker over here."

She nodded again, hugging herself to dash away the sudden chill she felt creeping through her body, "What are we going to do with him?"

He turned to Evan's body, grabbing it and hauling him over his shoulder, "Gotta ditch it in the Alamao Sea." She didn't question it, she was sure he did it all before, so she simply hopped into the passenger's side of his truck while he unloaded the body into the truck bed, "Want me to drop you off at your trailer?"

She shook her head, leaning back into the sea and looking back to where his final moments rested, "No, I need to see him go under."

Trevor didn't question her reasoning, just hopping back into his truck and driving them out of the park and back onto the main road. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, watching her, surprised to see her so calm, "You think you're gonna be okay?"

She was quiet for a long time, trying to think if she really was going to be. The people who tormented her even after she escaped were dead and soon to be gone, she could finally return to Sandy Shores and see the few people who actually cared for her again, and above anything else, that's what was going to make things okay.

She nodded slowly, "Yeah."

–

They left Evan behind to sink off the pier and into the Alamo's polluted depths to turn into nothing more than fish food. They sped off back towards Sandy Shores, Natalie staring off aimlessly at what passed by. She didn't say a word since the dropped his body off, and Trevor didn't try for any sort of conversation until he finally reached into his center console, pulling out the cell phone he made her give up and returning it to her. She looked at it for a second, then him, "Thanks." He shrugged nonchalantly, keeping his eyes on the road.

She turned it back on, finding several messages and missed calls. Most came from Janet, she knew she had to call her back and tell her she was okay, but later, she was too tired to play Clarissa and explain it all. But who else had called her had shocked her; it was her mother. Her parents were the last people she expected to ever contact her since they had pretty much disowned her in favor of their quiet life. Before Natalie had time to dwell on why she called the phone had rang and it was just who had left her with so much confusion.

She answered quickly, but coming up short on what to say, "Hello...? Mom?"

Her mother spoke as if the 5 years of silence never happened, like the last time they saw each other Natalie's father wasn't throwing her out, "Hello darling, I've been trying to reach you all day now. I need you to come home immediately."

She frowned, glancing at Trevor, believing he was listening in, "Why?"

She sighed through the door, "Grandmother passed away, Natie. Her funeral is tomorrow."

She froze up for a second, her grandmother had probably been the only one who truly accepted her non-conservative pursuits of her ultimate happiness, the only one she left behind on good terms. Natalie remained quiet before squeezing her eyes shut and sighing softly, "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." She didn't say goodbyes to her estranged parent, just hanging up and dropping her phone in her lap.

Trevor finally spoke up, "What's wrong?"

She ran her hands over her face and laid her head back, looking up into the endless expanse of night sky and the billions of stars that dot the darkness. She let out a laugh humorlessly, biting her lip, unable to believe the amount of bad luck that never seemed to end, "It doesn't ever get easy, does it Trevor?"


	12. Chapter 12

Notes: Guys, guys, I absolutely love this chapter. Writing this was so easy and great and I just feel I struck gold. Now once again, this isn't a Trevor heavy chapter, but I will resume with what you guys came looking for in the next chapter

Chapter 12

She said goodbye to her trailer as soon as she said hello. Her suitcase only had the clothes she left behind, her necessities still at Franklin's home of which she would replace on her way there. Trevor had simply dropped her off in front of her home, leaving her to find a cab to take her to the northern side of San Andreas. She had the money to take care of it all, but money would be incredibly tight when she made it back.

Natalie considered staying home instead of returning home to what would undoubtedly be a dreadful time with her family. But she owed it to her grandmother to be there as they laid her to rest six feet under.

The cab came and picked her up not long after her shower, hearing her cabbie complain about the long trip, which she ignored. She kept the gun on her like she always had on her trip north, and couldn't help but glance around through the traffic to make sure she wasn't being followed, not that she was an expert on how to tell if she was being followed. Her nerves eventually did calm down and she chose to nap the rest of the way there.

Sleep wasn't peaceful, her dream was more a movie than anything else. It was a beach that had no end, everything was in black and white, the sky overcast and threatening a storm unlike any she had ever seen. It was bitterly quiet despite the waves crashing inside the shore, the sea before her was a contrasting red. Thick as blood and staining the grayed sand before her.

Evan's body washed ashore at her feet, he stared off tino the sky, but seeing nothing. Natalie couldn't bring herself to look away, the beach that had been so deadly quiet soon turned too loud. The waves screaming into her ears at almost deafening sounds. Evan's eyes reanimated, looking straight at her, a mixture of hate and fear in just that look before, just as quick as they came back to life, they died again, his gaze looking towards nothing again.

When she woke up she didn't wake with her heart racing or fear chilling her very soul. She woke up like she didn't dream, when she knew she very well did. But that's what scared Natalie, the fear that she didn't fear that nightmare, that somehow, in the past 4 hours, her very being had changed into something that wasn't her, wasn't who she wanted to be. She shook her head and shook away all her invasive thoughts, she was tired, she wasn't herself because she had no time to rest and regroup. It would be over soon and she could go back to how it was, ignoring that the idea of going back to normal seemed damn near impossible.

The cabbie stopped in front of a home she thought she'd never see again. The brunette got out, grabbing her suitcase from the trunk before the cab drove off for its next job. It was the middle of the night by then, the sun wouldn't show its face again for another few hours. Despite the time, the front door to the house was unlocked and she entered, one of the benefits of living in a small town where everyone knew everyone.

She didn't bother to turn on the lights, despite the years, she knew her way around with little light. She made her way to the kitchen, surprised to see someone there. Sitting at the kitchen table was her brother Greg, he didn't notice at first, looking over papers that seemed to plan out what property was going to who. But he soon felt someone's presence, looking up from his work and finding his sister inside the doorway. She couldn't tell if he was happy to see her, but she knew he would be happier than the rest of their family, "I didn't think you'd come."

It was as good a greeting as any, she set her suitcase to the side, sitting across from him, "I loved Gran just as much as you. Is your family here?"

He shook his head, "Not here, at a hotel though. I'm staying the night to deal with paperwork. She left something for you."

Natalie was slightly shocked, despite her good relationship with her deceased grandmother, gifts between the two came rarely. Neither wanted anything from the other besides their company, in another world they could have been best friends, but their bond was always muddied by family drama and Natalie's unwanted role as the black sheep, "Really?"

Greg nodded, finally seeming to truly look at her, he looked at her face for a moment, she didn't look a day older than the day she had been tossed out, Natalie turned out lucky that the blow to the face left no lasting mark. His eyes eventually did wander down to her hand, noticing the missing digit that had been carefully wrapped in a fresh white gauze she applied after the previous gauze had been destroyed with blood and dirt. He swallowed the lump in is throat from seeing just the outside of the damage, "What happened?"

Natalie glanced down at it, "Accident at the bar, got clumsy chopping food." She had rehearsed that excuse so much she said it easier than she could say the truth.

He had no reason to suspect anything else, shaking his head and _tsk_ ing, "Mom will have a fit."

She frowned bitterly, not from his disapproval, but from the mention of their mother, "Mom would have a fit even if I didn't chop my finger off. Can you at least act like you missed me? No one else will."

Greg frowned, pushing the stacks of paper away, pushing a pair of wire rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry, Nat... it's been a rough couple days. I really do wish you'd come around to see us."

She felt bad, missing the friendship her and her older brother had. But even being there now with time to talk and enjoy each others company, they were just too different, "You know I can't, Greg. I'm only here for Grandmother, I owe it to her."

He nodded, slowly getting up from his chair, "I should get some sleep, the service is at noon, we gotta be there by eleven."

She nodded, fiddling with her hands, "Alright, night."

He left to his childhood bedroom, which had been untouched since he left for college years ago. She didn't have such a luxury, the day she'd been thrown out of her home, so had her bed and her dresser and anything else her father could drag out the front door.

She ventured out to the living room, which hadn't changed much in those five years. She noticed there were considerably fewer photos of her to make room for pictures of Greg and his blossoming family, the most recent showed a picture of his wife, Erica, pregnant. She sat herself on the couch, deciding to make this her bed for the remainder of the night. She grabbed the folded up throw blanket and matching pillow and got herself comfortable. Despite her desires to sleep, she couldn't help but look at the photos of the family that didn't feel like hers enjoying their lives without their daughter.

–

Sleep eventually came and she was woken up by the sounds of her family getting ready for the day. She imagined they wouldn't have woken her up, but ignored it, this wasn't the day to relive the bitterness she held towards her parents and the rest of the people who pushed her away. She got up and stretched out her limbs. Quick to hide her damaged hand under the throw blanket when her mother passed by.

Natalie and her mother looked like the same person, the only difference was the years between them. Nat had counted her blessings that her mom was still pretty, so she had little to fear when she got to her age so long as she cut back on the cigarettes. Despite their similarities in appearance, they had no bit of personality that matched. Her mother tried to keep up an appearance of the happiest family around, her dream was being Paleto Bay's very own Stepford family, ignoring the fact that it entailed complete soullessness.

She clapped her hands together, her mouth going in a hard line at seeing her daughter so unready for the day, "Dear, please hurry up, your father would hate to be late for his mother's funeral."

Natalie didn't protest, not giving her a single word, simply getting up and grabbing her suitcase, lugging it into the bathroom to change. She didn't bother much with her appearance, swiping her mother's makeup to clear up any blemish before throwing on the clothes she packed. It was a simple, long-sleeved, black dress, something she did actually like a great deal, but still wound up dissatisfied that the only time it would get the attention it deserved was at a funeral.

She was out of the bathroom quickly, slipping her phone and her cigarettes, along with her bandaged hand into the dress' hip pockets, when Greg passed by and found her simple way of avoiding drama over her missing finger, she earned a smile from him, something she was surprised to feel pride over. Natalie stood by the front door, getting out of the way of her family as they prepared.

She soon came face to face with Greg's wife. They had only met once, never speaking beyond a simple 'hello'. She looked surprised to see Natalie there, but gave her a polite smile. Natalie pushed a smile across her own face, glancing down at the toddler bouncing in her arms, oblivious to the tension or the future sorrow this day would bring.

The awkward silence between the two was soon broken when it came time for them to head towards the funeral home. Greg had decided to be merciful and let Natalie hitch a ride in his car instead of having to endure a ride with their parents. She mouthed a silent 'thank you' on their way out, which he returned with a smile.

–

The funeral home was packed with family and friends of the late and great Edith Bell, they all whispered their condolences to each other, some even providing sympathy to Natalie, but most who did had been unaware of her status as the family disappointment until a gossip decided to quietly slip the news soon after.

Natalie was positioned in the front, sat beside her brother and her mother, much to Nat's dismay. As people were piling in to find seats and tissue boxes, she finally got a good look at her father who sat with her mother. Natalie's father was a tough and tall man, what could very well be considered All-American. He was a man not to be trifled with, but at the same time most still flocked to him, claiming he had a 'warm disposition'. But she didn't see it, she saw a man who wished she wasn't there, quite possibly wanting her to just not be his daughter. In simplest terms, she felt sorrow and resentment to a parent who couldn't even pretend to love her anymore like her mother did.

Edith's body lay in a coffin arranged in the front, flowers cascaded over the top that matched arrangements lining the walls, giving the entire room and nearly overpowering smell. People sat and sniffled as they mourned their dearly departed. Even her mother, who didn't care for Edith too much while she was alive, dabbed at tears with a cloth handkerchief, though Nat suspected this was purely for show.

A pastor arrived at the center, Natalie remembered him from her youth, when her family all went to church on the holidays. He was an old man by then, nearing his eighties and his faith in The Good Book gave him no reason to retire anytime soon. His voice was still strong despite his years, silencing everyone in the room aside from the occasional sniffle or held-back sob. He spoke of Edith fondly, having known her since high school. Many suspected they had once dated, but when asked the only answer they would get from either the pastor or Edith was a small chuckle and an urge to leave the past where it was.

Natalie kept her eyes on the coffin, where her grandmother lay and take in the kind words of those who loved her. Edith was a well beloved woman, everyone had a good couple words to say about her, even if they didn't like her behind closed doors. The thing about Edith was that in her many years and many good and notable deeds had made her very being give off an air that demanded respect. She was a woman to be envied, and those who wronged her or her kin were handled with a graceful cruelty, of which Natalie's mother feared and her father quietly resented.

How Natalie was not treated so harshly, she barely knew. She had a feeling that from the day she was brought into this world Edith knew she wasn't going to be tamed. She was a free spirit, a free thinker since the day she learned to walk. Nat liked to think that in her day, Edith too rebelled from the normal, or at least wished to rebel, but free thinking was much less desired back in her day.

The funeral seemed to end entirely too quick, but Nat had barely been paying attention throughout, lost in the thoughts of her childhood. Edith was promptly laid to rest and the mourners promptly left to the community center which would hold the solemn after party.

People mingled and talked amongst themselves, eating the dishes they prepared for the event. It looked like a game to Natalie, the game being who could act the most devastated and at the same time graciously empathetic. Mother had proven a strong contender in the game, blowing her nose when she pretended to think no one saw, choking up midway through sentences, but at the same time, subtly glaring at a young woman who was another of Edith's grandchildren who had forced tears to stream down her face the entire day.

The spectacle that laid out before her was making Natalie more nauseous than the dish of Alfredo that a distant aunt had forced on her plate. When she was sure no one was looking at her she disposed of her food and slipped out the back door of the community center. She was alone finally, able to go through her own grieving process which involved a pack of cigarettes and a bottle of wine she swiped from the banquet table. She sat herself down on the pavement, not caring if she got her dress dirty.

It felt cathartic to be there by herself, sipping a cheap wine and taking a drag off an even cheaper cigarette, a tear or two was even shed at the expense of her grandmother. She wondered what Edith would do if she saw her friends and family behave this way. Natalie smiled to herself, figuring she would tell them all to quit lying to themselves.

The back door opened again and out came the brunette's father who hadn't so much has looked at her the entire day. He too seemed to be escaping the horrible play-acting that lay inside. He noticed his daughter sitting on the ground just a few feet away from him, making no move to hide the bottle she'd stolen.

He looked at her with disinterest, as one would look at a lesser. She was reminded instantly on how much she truly despised him, "I see even after your grandmother has just been put to rest you can't seem to stop yourself from getting messed up."

She looked away, tossing her cigarette butt and speaking with obvious bitterness, "Don't you remember? I'm the family disappointment."

He gave an exasperated sigh, "For the love of God, Natalie, you act like we tortured you. We gave you all we could and you still ended up rotten."

She sipped her drink, "You never believed in me, you never wanted me to be happy, you just wanted me to what you wanted. Don't worry, you only fucked up one of your kids."

He watched her for a long time, looking in disbelief at the person who was his offspring, "What happened to your hand?"

Natalie scoffed, "Please don't act like you ever cared."

He sighed, tucking his hands into his suit's pockets, "Maybe it'd be best if you just left."

She laughed, throwing her head back and wiping the residue of the wine from her lips, "It's about time we agreed on something."

She got up and looked him over, seeing a man who was so familiar to her, but not her father, just a man who claimed to be for twenty-six years. She made an over-dramatic bow at him before turning away from him and walking off. She found in the parking lot her brother, sitting with his wife and child. Despite his grief, they looked happy, they looked like a real family that was going to make something out of themselves in that small town. It was something she still had no desire for.

Greg looked up at her as she walked closer, seeing the look on her face, "Your leaving." He stated, not having to ask since he already knew.

She nodded, giving a half smile, "Yeah, who knew a chat with Dad would turn out bad?"

He smiled a little, despite the relationship between Greg and their father being much better than her's, he knew how their old man could be, "I'm just glad you came up."

She sighed, watching her niece play gnaw on a set of car keys, "Yeah, well, glad someone is."

He stood up, coming closer and doing the last thing she expected, hugging her, "Please stay in touch, Natie, I'm worried about you." He spoke quieter, into her ear, "I know your lying about your hand, you were never clumsy enough to main yourself."

She smiled a little more, "Should've figured you were too smart for that. I promise to call if something happens to me."

He nodded, grabbing her by the arms and getting one last good look at his little sister before he reached into his pocket, grabbing some cash from his wallet and pushing it into her hand, speaking up before she had time to protest, "Don't. Just take it." She looked down at the money in her hand, more than enough to pay for the cab and pay for two weeks worth of groceries, "I know when your in trouble, Natie. You can pay me back later if you want."

She looked up at him and hugged him again, before quickly releasing. She smiled to him and then his family, before finally turning away and off towards heading back towards her childhood home.

She reached for her phone in her pocket when she was a good distance away from the community center, dialing in Trevor's number. A few rings went through before he picked up, "Natalie. Where are you?"

She sighed, the sound of his voice making her feel closer to home, "I'm still up north, I'll be back in Sandy Shores by tonight."

"Why? Home not so sweet?"

She laughed, "This was never my home. I need to come back Trevor, I still want to work for you. In whatever I can do."

Natalie could hear him chuckle through the receiver, "You think you can stand to be more that a rat hole?"

She sighed, nearing the house, nearly glaring at it, "I can do whatever you throw at me."


	13. Chapter 13

p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Chapter 5/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie tried counting the days she was stuck there in some semblance of sanity. She had counted 3 nights total. Though she often nodded off when stress and exhaustion proved too much to bear, leaving her worried she was asleep for days on end and perhaps it had been a full week or two that she had been held captive. She tried marking time passages through the meager meals the Lost would give her. But that proved useless when the meals came erratically, sometimes twice in a day, sometimes once every two days./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Her new bondage consisted of chains wrapped around her sore wrists, the other end of the chains tied to a bolted down space heater. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but much better than the rope they had used on her earlier, even allowing her the freedom to sit and lay down before sores started welling up on her body./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She looked to her hand once more, as she often did nowadays. The Lost had been courteous enough to wrap up her hand in bandages, although poorly and her finger was still gone, taken with them as some sort of sick trophy. When she had woken not long after she lost the digit, she had for a few seconds forgotten the terrible event. But when she looked to the source of her most intense pain and saw the bloody nub, she was reduced to fits of screaming for hours on end, whether is was the immeasurable amount of pain or purely despair./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie soon after had been transported out of the trailer she had thought she would die in, instead to what was little more than a broom closet. There was little for her to sit there and do until her days were finished, often looking through a small window near the ceiling, that provided no means of her knowing where she was, only pointing towards the sky. She could hear she was in some kind of building the MC frequented, but she couldn't tell what. She wasted her time listening into conversations about who said what, how many people railed someone's old lady, and anything and everything in between. She deduced it was some type of clubhouse. In the distance, she could hear what had to be a busy road, so at least she wasn't far from civilization. Natalie found comfort that her body would perhaps be found./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was only 3 men total who would come to see her, asking the same question time and time again; 'Where did Trevor cook?'. She answered with silence, too tired to fight back, but she would receive a short, strong punch to the face before being left on her own again. The frequent beatings left her right eye swollen shut. Nat was glad she didn't have a mirror in there, glad they were the only ones to see the mess done to her face./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"In her times of despair, she thought of home, a place she'd been so eager to leave but now wished so dearly that she could go back. She was raised nuclear, a mom and a dad who loved each other very much and an older brother who was expecting a child with his college sweetheart. Her childhood was the American dream, but she found so painfully, depressingly boring. They were a quiet family, never making a fuss, liked among their neighbors, and did as so many planned before; get married, raise children, see their grandchildren and pass away after a long life./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie never wanted that for herself. She didn't want a quiet life where she would pop out kids and die a death that wasn't memorable. She was upset that her family was happy to live quietly, that they never wanted to step out of their comfort zone. When they heard she was moving away to be some 'trailer trash' they were scandalized; their little girl wasn't content enough to be a housewife. She hadn't spoken to her parents in years, the last time she had spoken to their brother, it was obvious that they had nothing in common. They ended their phone call in a silent agreement that they wouldn't speak until one of them was dying./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Natalie lay her head down, looking at the door that was her only means of escape, but it was locked so tightly she had no hope left in it. She spent countless hours thinking of what she could do to save herself, but nothing seemed feasible, her will to live was dwindling./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was a commotion outside, people were yelling at each other, but it happened so often it wasn't anything new to her. Despite that, she listened in to see what the issue was this time around. It sounded like a bunch of guys, they sounded angry and tense, something about an attack, but she couldn't hear much to know the specifics. She, however, could tell the fight was coming their way and some small part of her had hoped that maybe there would be a window of opportunity for her to escape her captors. Said window expanded to the door when she heard Trevor's name being spoken in anger. Her heart skipped a beat and she choked on a sob of pure eagerness, a grin stretched across her face, smiling for the first time in what seemed like eons./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"There was a sudden onslaught of gunshots. It made her jump and tucked herself into a corner, her eyes locked on the door, wait for someone, anyone, to barge in. She could hear people were dying, some she was sure were the Lost, though some she feared was the team that could potentially save her life. She didn't hear the familiar gruff voice that was Trevor's, she was afraid it wasn't him after all./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She briefly wondered why Trevor would even come, she was just some small, easily replaceable pawn in the grand scheme of his business. Natalie began doubting that he was even there, Trevor being a fairly common name and all, doing what could be called a suicide mission just to protect her. She sat back, chewing her lip and almost ignoring the fight just outside. The Lost was sure to have enemies, maybe it was just a gang war. Maybe the rivaling gang would have mercy on her, any enemy of the MC was a friend of hers./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"A bullet burst right through the door, almost hitting her in a place that would've surely killed her. She screamed, trying her best to hide further in the corner to avoid another bullet just as someone broke open the door. She didn't recognize him, he was a black man with a hard look on his face, his clothes were bloody, but it didn't look like he took any hits, an automatic weapon was held firmly in scraped up hands. He looked like an angel of death to her./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;""span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Aw' shit." He winced at her appearance, she apparently looked just as bad as she felt, he closed the door behind him, quickly stepping closer to her and kneeling down, trying to undo the chains, "Are you Natalie?"/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She was shocked, her hands shaking, "Y-Yeah.. did Trevor send you?" Her wrists were let free, she looked down to find angry red blisters, some bleeding./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He nodded, helping her up, she was weak, hardly able to stand on her own, "Yeah, he called us to help out." He noticed she was having a hard time, speaking into his earpiece, "T, I found her, but we gotta carry her out, I need back up." He paused for a moment, listening to Trevor on the receiving end, before looking back to her, then down at her hand, it mummified in bandages, "What happened?"/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She frowned softly, "They uh... cut off my finger." Suddenly feeling self-conscious, hiding her hand behind her back/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He shook his head, looking disgusted at what they did to her, speaking into his earpiece again, "Any time now guys, we gotta take her to the hospital." A pause, "Yeah, she's awake, but she's looking rough." He gave her a compassionate look, "Sorry."/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The door opened again to another man he didn't recognize, he looked roughly Trevor's age but much well put together, "Jesus, what'd they do to you?"/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"They didn't give her time to answer, the younger man wrapped her arm around her waist and scooped her up into his arms, "Alright Mikey, we gotta make this quick, you got my back?"/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The well-tailored guy who was apparently Mikey nodded, and they made a dash to the front door. Natalie looked around, she was in a bar of all places, bodies littering the floors, making her feel nauseous. She caught a glimpse of Trevor before she looked away to eb away the bile rising in her throat./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"When they made it out of the bar it was bright, blinding her for a few seconds before she was toted to a black SUV and tucked into the passenger's side, Michael spoke through his earpiece, "Trevor we got her out, we're taking her up to the hospital up in Paleto Bay."/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"The younger man hopped into the driver's side, Michael looking like he was going to find his own transportation. She bulked herself up with fumbling hands just as they pulled away from the ruined bar. The guy beside her spoke up, "How are you feeling? I'm Franklin, by the way."/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="border: none; padding: 0in; line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She adjusted herself into a more comfortable position in her seat, "Like hell, but I'll live... just y'know, try to take me to the hospital sooner rather than later."/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"He smiled a little, nodding, "I think I can do that." The ride north wasn't a long one, she soon saw the quiet, suburban city that was her hometown. He spoke as they edged closer to the medical center, "I can bring you in, but I need to leave immediately after. I can't have cops trying to talk to me."/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She nodded a little, cradling her hand against her chest, "I understand."/span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"Franklin stopped the SUV right in front of the facility, hopping out of the car and dashing over to the passenger's side, he help her out and hauled her into the hospital, "We need some medical attention over here!" He shouted out to anyone who would listen./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"A few nurses were at the ready, hurrying to the two and taking Natalie out of his arms, laying her down on a waiting gurney. She saw just as the attention was on her, Frank was already leaving, she smiled a little and giving a small wave goodbye as nurses went through rapid-fire questions./span/span/span/p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"br /br /p  
p style="line-height: 0.19in; orphans: 1;"span style="color: #000000;"span style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: small;"She laid her head back, taking a deep breath and letting herself cry through a grin. She was finally free, she could finally feel safe. She never felt happier./span/span/span/p 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

She opted for plaid and the most minimal of makeup. Natalie did her best to try and look the part of a truck driver. Looking at herself in the mirror, she found herself perfectly capable for this role. Grabbing her keys and her gun she went out the door and walked the short distance to the cook site. Waiting for her was Chef and a large delivery truck with a Pi _ßwasser logo printed on the side, she could only assume it was stolen._

 _Chef stood from his lounging position when he saw her arrive, smiling at her appearance, "Glad you got dressed up for the occasion."_

 _She smirked and rolled her eyes, putting her hands on her hips, "Thanks, shall we go?"_

 _He nodded, hopping into the passenger's side of the truck cabin while she took the driver's seat. She shoved a cigarette between her lips and turned on the truck with the keys already in the ignition. Chef spoke up again, "Traffic's going to be horrible getting to the airport, it should clear out by the time we're heading back."_

 _"_ _Great." Was all she said, she cranked up the air conditioning and the radio. She didn't realize how much she missed the radio until her favorite station hissed to life. She wasn't sure how into modern alternative Chef was, but she didn't care, and he didn't seem too interested in it anyways._

 _His focus was on the road. He wasn't driving, but he still kept a sharp eye on each car, making sure that nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. Chef was an addict, she could tell the second she had met him about a week ago. It wasn't a surprise, however, it was clear everyone in Blaine County had a vice and being a meth cook gave you access to any vice you wanted to partake in for a proper fee. Chef's favorite thing to sample was the thing he was considered the best at making, methamphetamine. His desire for it wasn't as bad as Trevor's, so his appearance was cleaner. His skin didn't look like a product of substance abuse, but rather manual labor. When he did partake in his dependency, he handled it much better than most, still able to work as hard as he ever did and function fairly normal and even though he sampled his product, it was never enough for there to be any harm done in sales. Trevor never minded either, the biggest fan of Chef's work was in fact Trevor._

 _Chef was right to predict bad traffic ahead, the trip took an extra hour than it would normally take to get from Sandy Shores to Los Santos. But they made it on time anyways, having guessed beforehand they would need extra time to make it down south, so by the time they went through the gates, their plane had touched down. Natalie was told to sit back and wait around while they loaded up, finding it slightly offense that she was the only one not instructed to load up the shipment, but she didn't complain. Enjoying the bit of free time to explore the giant stretch of asphalt that made up half of Los Santos International Airport._

 _She made her way towards a small resting area by the main building, set there for workers to rest and escape the sun until their next task came. She found a few benches and vending machines hidden under and awning. She grabbed the little bit of cash she had in her pant's pocket, grabbing herself a Sprunk before sitting herself on a bench._

 _Natalie took out her phone, finding a message from her best friend Rebecca. It felt like forever since she even thought of her, feeling a little bad for it. But life had a way of getting in the way. She opened up the message; Rebecca was going to be in Vespucci Beach in two weeks vacationing with her new boyfriend and his friend. She figured she could afford to spend some time with her. She needed a day to enjoy herself, it felt like ages since she just had a relaxing day, where there was no work to do or no one seeking to kill her. She replied she could see what she could do, but promised to see her at least for an hour._

 _She got back up after a few minutes alone, taking her time to get back to the truck. She knew already she didn't have the eagle eye Chef did, but still looked over her surroundings, hoping that she could find anything out of the ordinary. No one seemed to look her way, everyone too busy with their own tasks at hand to pay her any mind, so she eventually made it back to the delivery truck with a calming mind._

 _They were almost done, Chef already getting ready to get back in the cab. She hopped back in first waiting for the call for them to leave. She heard one of the packers smack the side of the truck, telling her that she was good to go. She looked beside herself to Chef, who nodded his confirmation. She started the truck back up and left._

 _–_

 _The drive back was easier, it seemed like red lights were shorter as well. But when she made a glance at Chef she saw he wasn't as calm. His body was tense, his fingers drumming against his thigh, he stared intently through the side view mirror. She spoke up, "What's up?"_

 _He frowned, speaking as calmly as he could, but she could still hear the nervous tension, "There's a black sedan behind us has been behind us since we first got onto Carson Avenue."_

 _She glanced out the rear view mirror and she enough she could make out the sedan. The windows were too dark for her to see who exactly was driving and how many people the car held, "What do you think they're going to do?"_

 _He was still watching them, "They're going to make a move soon, if we get close enough to Sandy Shores then we can get out of their reach, so they have to start shooting before we make it onto the LS Freeway."_

 _Natalie's fingers tightened on the wheel, resisting the urge to gun it. She waited for a shot to go off and soon enough she heard it, her side view mirror shattering when the bullet made impact. She flinched away from it, but kept steady on the road, finally she stomped her foot on the gas, the truck steadily speeding forward. Chef was right on top of their defense, popping shots back at their attackers._

 _Natalie tried her best to keep steady, but was having trouble weaving through traffic on the intersections, trying not to slam into a car and slow them down. She made it to Popular Street and the sedan was still after them, neither of them making any progress eliminating the threat._

 _"_ _Jesus Christ!" Chef cried out, his arm coiling back into the cab, "They fucking shot me!"_

 _She looked quickly over to him, seeing the wound on his forearm, she cursed under her breath. There went her gunman. There wasn't much she could do then besides try to outrun them, which was next to impossible considering the truck barely made it to 80 miles per hour. She was staring straight ahead at the road, watching the other surrounding vehicles speed forward to avoid being a casualty._

 _Fuck_ _, she thought before gritting her teeth and stomping on the brakes. The sedan behind them didn't expect the stop and rear ended them, causing the truck to swerve as it screeched to a stop. She did what she could to stay on the road until the truck finally stopped. She looked back to Chef, "Can you still shoot?"_

 _He groaned, still holding tight to his arm, "Fuck, I think so."_

 _She nodded, wasting no time to grab a hold of her gun and get out of the truck. Their enemies were waiting for them, couple Asian guys in suits, four total. She ran for cover before she shot, Chef following suit, the adrenaline mending the pain ringing through his arm._

 _Natalie opened fire on their attackers. Her aim steadied, hitting her first target in the shoulder, knocking him back behind the car. She went for the second, who shot at her first, a bullet whizzing past her head, nearly ending her life. She recoiled back to cover, looking at Chef with wide eyes, he looked right back at her for a moment, looking at her intently with a wild look on his face, "You can do this."_

 _She believed him, taking a breath before stepping back out of cover. Her eyes went back on her second target, who was waiting for her. He shot again, but missed, hitting the truck. She shot immediately after, getting him in the head. He crumpled and his gun went off, the last thing he'd ever do._

 _Chef got the other two down and out, slowly rising from his cover. Natalie advanced to the car, knowing her first shot was still alive. She saw him behind the car, still lying on the ground, cursing in Chinese while he curled over from the pain. He saw her approach, trying to get a good hold on his gun but getting it to late. Her foot went against his wrist, forcing him to release._

 _She watched him, almost observing him like he was an animal in the zoo. Her gun was held tight in her hand, reading to aim and fire. But some small thing held her back, she searched for what it was. She had killed Evan, but it was dire and somehow, some small part of her thought she could escape without absolutely having to kill him. Now she had to kill this guy, she had to because in her chest, she wanted to. And she found him surprisingly calm, ready to accept his fate, but not without a glare on his face, ready to drag her down to hell with him if he ever had a chance._

 _She aimed and fired, shooting him in the forehead, his head falling back with blood flying every which way. She stared down at the body she created. Somehow, in her head it morphed to Evan's, she could almost swear she was looking back down at him like she had before._

 _"_ _Natalie!" She heard Chef call out, holding onto his arm again now that the danger had been cleared out for now. She looked back to see him still by the truck, surely wondering what the hell she was even doing._

 _She glanced back down at the body for a moment before shaking her head, heading back to the truck to take up the driver's seat again. They departed before any cops went to investigate._

 _It was quiet for a while up until they were exiting the freeway. Chef looked at her, grabbing a rag from the glove compartment to stop the excess bleeding "Have you killed anyone before?"_

 _She sighed, finally realizing how tensed up she was, "Yeah, I have. It just feels... I don't know, different somehow."_

 _He smiled a little, "Would it make me a cliché if I said it gets easier?"_

 _She laughed a short laugh, "It would. But I know, I just need time I guess."_

 _They made it to McKenzie Airfield without another issue, finding Trevor waiting up front with a couple guys waiting to unload the truck. They got out of the truck to greet them. Trevor inspecting the damage, "What happened?"_

 _Chef looked back, seeing the trail of bullet holes, the worst of it in the back, "Chinese were tailing up. Me and Natalie got them taken care off right outside of Los Santos." He didn't speak much after that, heading inside the hangar to mend his wound._

Trevor looked at Natalie, seeming surprised that she was able to take down a few guys on her own. She raised an eyebrow at him and smirked, as if to ask if he thought she was incapable to handle her own. After all, she managed to take down a man hell bent on ending her life and kill a tragically curious coyote.

Trev turned towards the men to his side, speaking to them in Spanish, probably instructing them to unload the back. She stepped out of the way just as they made it to the back of the truck to unlock and unload.

She pulled out her cigarettes, and took a deep breath. She felt like getting really drunk, but knowing her, she'd just turn in for an early night once again. She lit up the end of her cigarette and watched the two men grab box after box and head into the hangar. She assumed they were professionals at this, treating this like just another day. She wondered if she was going to end up like that, so used to drug trafficking and killing that is would become a second nature to her. She had to admit; it made her nervous to be so cold and callous. But she was working under Trevor and the way she had killed a man only half an hour ago and still barely felt a thing told her she was already halfway there. She was going to go crazy, she was going to be murderous, but this is what she wanted for so long.

Natalie turned her head, catching Trevor looking at her from where he stood a couple feet away, he didn't look away when he was caught. She wondered how long he had been watching her. She smiled at him, "Is there something you need?"

He nodded towards the trailer not far from the hangar, before turning and heading towards it. She took it as her cue to follow. She ashed her cigarette and tucked what was left in her pocket before following him inside. The trailer wasn't meant to be someone's home, but rather the hub for communication and information for McKenzie. Even then there was an opened up futon and a set up in the little kitchen the people who worked there must spend a lot of time hanging around.

Trevor closed the door behind her, Natalie quick to unbutton her shirt so he didn't ruin this shirt too. He pressed her against a wall, watching as she slipped off her plaid shirt, revealing a black bra. She smiled a little, "Sorry I forgot the lace."

He scoffed, leaning down and kissed her, hard and firm. He hands were all over her waist, never getting used to the feel of her. She kissed him back with the same ferociousness, grabbing his shirt and trying to pull him as close as possible.

Before she knew it, she was on the futon with him on top of her. He was kissing down her neck to her chest, leaving behind marks that were sure to bruise. She moaned and sighed with each deep kiss on her skin, her legs wrapping around him and bringing his body down against hers. One of his hands trailed lower, unbuttoning her jeans in one swift motion and shoving his hand into her panties.

She gasped softly when he reached just where he needed to be. She reached up and gripped tight into his hair, forcing him closer to her and kissing him again, her need for his touch becoming more incessant, making it almost as hard to breathe as what he was doing to her was.

Sex with Trevor felt nicer than she normally had it. Perhaps because this was her longest 'fling' with a guy. She often didn't sleep with guys more than five times, in fear that they would begin to have feelings for her. But with Trevor, it felt easier, sex had no meaning and it felt fantastic. Even his cries of 'I love you' when she was close to making him come held no romantic value, it was just his version of pillow talk.

And just like any time they shared a bed or wall or any place that was sturdy enough to do their dastardly deeds, she felt nothing but tension and bliss. Her fingers pressing into the muscles on his back as he rocked his hips against hers until he would pick up the pace and her firm touch turned into her nails digging into his skin, causing his back to arch into the pain he adored so much.

He reciprocated with his own version of pleasure induced pain. Leaning down just as she reached orgasm and biting down hard into the muscle between her should and neck. She cried out, clawing deeper into his back, making him bleed just as he made her bleed.

When they finished, they lay beside each other, panting and sweating from the over-exertion. She soon touched over where he bit, looking at her fingers to find a bit of blood on her tips. She turned to face him, punching him in the arm, "You fucker, that's gonna scar."

Trevor looked back at her, a devilish look on his face, "That was the plan."

She rolled her eyes at him, sitting up and reaching for her half used cigarette. But thinking better of it due to Trevor's distaste for it and tucking it back into the pocket of her discarded shirt "So what was that? You claiming me or something?"

He shrugged, sitting up a little bit, crossing his arms behind his head, "Yeah, looks like it."

Natalie shook her head, but still finding a smile on her face, "If this gets infected, you better pay for my doctor's visits."

He waved her off just as she got up, ignoring her complaints because in reality she didn't mind the mark on her skin that would be a permanent reminder of the best lay she probably ever gotten. She put on her clothes and grabbed her things. Turning back to him just before she walked out the door, "By the way, I need to take time off two weeks from now."

"I don't care."

She scoffed, "Fuck you too."

–

Within the next few days, things continued it what she considered normality. She had since patched up the wound that she felt oddly prideful over, but wouldn't admit it. She had time to herself after her daily work routine, walking down to the local 24/7 store to pick up some drinks for the a night of movies and drinking alone.

On her way back she ran into Michael. She was taken aback for a second, not only because it was odd to see a man like him among the residents of Sandy Shores, but also because it brought her back to what seemed like forever ago. Seeing him only with a gun in his hands and dragging her out of a bar she had been destined to die in. Seeing him again brought a strange mix of anxiety and gratitude inside her.

Michael was the first to speak, seeming about as surprised to see her as she was him, "Wow, glad to see your still alive."

She couldn't help but crack a bit of a smile, "Yeah, I'm surprised as you are. What are you doing here?" She paused for a second before speaking again, "Trevor, right?"

He gave a short laugh, "Yeah, Trevor." He sighed, apparently his situation not as humorous as he tried to play it off, "He fucked up really bad, we have to stay here for awhile until everything calms down in Los Santos."

She couldn't help but feel a bit of happiness at the idea of not having to take the trip down to LS, but felt sympathy for Michael anyways, "How long do you think they have to stay here?"

He ran a hand through his short hair, sighing again, "Christ, I don't know. Trevor fucked up big time, he kidnapped this guys wife, and this guy, let me tell you, he's not taking it well. If we set foot in Los Santos we're pretty much dead."

She frowned softly, as stupid as Trevor's fuck-up was, it sounded a lot like him, "Can't he just give her back?"

He shook his head, "If we could ever manage to give her back without getting killed, then sure, but we can't."

She frowned, "Is there something I can do?"

He shook his head, smiling with no happiness behind it, "No, there's no fixing this. We'll figure something out. Hopefully."

She gave a sympathetic smile to him, not sure of what else to say. Luckily he looked for no condolences, it seemed he was a master in wallowing in his own suffering. He left soon after back to Trevor's trailer.

She watched him walk off, seeing in the yard a woman. She couldn't get much of a good look at her but she new the woman was older. The woman caught sight of her, waving politely. Natalie waved back, surprised to see her so unfazed by being kidnapped. But perhaps this woman was used to it by now.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Nat was packing as fast as she could. All she had to collect her things was a small suitcase and a backpack, but she made due. She opted for clothes first, picking out whatever would last the longest until she could find a source of cash. Since she was heading further south, unfortunately, thicker clothes would not bode well, so she took what she could get. Next it was toiletries; her soaps and toothpaste, along with a bit of makeup.

She looked into her bag and then her room. Her room still seemed so full; full of the past twenty years of her life. But her bag could only hold so much, and memories were not a priority. She took what she could of the small bits of good she made in this life; photos of friends still around and photos of those who moved on, the Zippo lighter her first boyfriend gave her, and a couple small prizes from trips down at Del Perro.

She could only hope that she could sneak out of the house without her parents making a fuss. But she was given no such luck when she heard her door being knocked on and then thrown open. Her father stood in the doorway, his chest puffed up like some predatory alpha male, making him look 10 feet tall. Her mother stood behind him, peeking around her husband to see their daughter.

Her mother looked meek and shy, probably because of the enraged demeanor of her father. Natalie was sure by the way she acted when her husband was pissed off that he had struck her a few times behind closed doors. But to let anyone know this would lead to scandal, so her mother kept tight lipped. Despite her shyness, she still looked ready to stand behind her husband in whatever goal he wanted out of this.

The goal wasn't hard to figure out. He jabbed a finger at her, "Did you steal from the liquor store?" His voice was loud and filled with menace, doing what he knew best to intimidate those he found lesser than him.

Natalie was not so easily cowed by her father's anger. Grabbing her suitcase and staring right back at him, his eyes boring into her with seething rage, which she met with teenage passiveness, "I don't know what you're talking about."

He advanced towards her in only two steps, grabbing her arm and jerking her roughly closer, "If I find out you were involved, I swear-"

She jerked her arm back to her side, glancing for a moment at her mother. She looked almost like she wanted to speak up, her hands near her mouth, but Natalie knew better to find any safety in her mother, "I did, okay? Let me leave."

His face somehow got redder, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckled were paper white. If he wasn't as much of the law-abiding citizen he prided himself on being, he could've torn her head off. "You what?!"

She rolled her eyes, playing oblivious to his near violent demeanor, "I was the driver. I crashed the car and ran before the cops-"

She was cut off abruptly by a firm smack across her face. She knew who was the one to hit her, but her eyes went right back to her mother again. Her mother stood frozen and wide eyed, in shock to see her daughter harmed in such a way. Natalie did what she could to convey an ask for help, for her mother to step up once in her life, to prove to Nat that she evened cared about her. But she stood on the sidelines, like she always did and she didn't even have the shame to look away at the mess she was allowing to happen.

Natalie didn't fight back with her father after that, taking the medicine he deemed righteous, all so she could leave this place. His hand was back on his arm, nearly squeezing it to death as he dragged her out of the house. She was thrown onto the front lawn roughly, leaving dirt and grass stains across her clothing. Her father was screaming obscenities at her that sounded a lot more like white noise to her by then.

She got up and dusted herself off as he disappeared into the house to toss out her things, looking around idly and seeing her neighbors quickly surround the property to view first hand what would be this month's hot gossip. He came back out and tossed her suitcase at her, which she narrowly avoided. Furniture of hers was soon to be chucked out, her mother still following behind him, this time speaking to him, no doubt trying to tell him not to make such a scene. Natalie wasn't sure if her mother was more horrified about her child being struck or being scandalized in front of all their friends.

She looked back to her father just as he lobbed a photo frame right at her head. It made impacted and cut deep through her skin. She fell on her ass, but otherwise didn't feel anything besides the blood trickling down her face from her forehead. She winced at the idea of it needing stitches, but was soon distracted by someone coming in to play the caring neighbor.

She got up on her own, grabbing what she had already packed. It took her by surprise but she felt fine despite what was probably a decent concussion. She moved her steady gaze back to what used to be her home, seeing her mother in the window, watching her. Natalie waited, for what, she wasn't sure. Maybe some semblance of kindness, or compassion, anything. But she was only met with coldness as her mother's back was turned to her.

Natalie felt no anger or sadness, she knew for a long time they never loved her.

–

Today was inventory day, which meant she had to go see Trevor. She felt some semblance of excitement for seeing him that day, but kept it hidden from anyone around and even herself. The trip to hand him over the files would be short this time around, however. Trevor had been forced to stay in Sandy Shores for awhile with Michael and their kidnap victim while they waited for the judgment of one criminal mastermind, so trips to deliver were only a short walking distance away.

She made her way to Trevor's trailer, seeing Michael on the porch on the phone. He hung up just as she went up the steps, looking dissatisfied with his call. He turned to her, leaning back on the railing. He wasn't dressed as he normally was. He traded in the expensive suit for a pair of sweatpants and a wife beater that had seen better days.

She didn't know much about the man standing before her, but she could easily guess he had some big, nice house with a pricey car parked out front. She wondered if he made his fortune in criminal affairs or if shooting people up was almost as new to him as it was to her. The deep age lines around his eyes told her that he wasn't new to the game by any means, which made her wonder how Michael got to live in presumed splendor and Trevor was sitting right in the middle of meth country.

She waved to him, and he gave a half heart-ed 'hey' before his gaze when directly to the neckline of her tank top. She didn't find any offense in it, working at a bar full of men drunk and horny enough for anything got her used to that sort of attention. But she knew better than to think that he was purely perving out on her, instead catching a glimpse of a bra she would wear when she was expecting something great to happen later that evening. It was no coincidence that it was also decked out with lace.

His gaze when back to her face, raising an eyebrow and not even trying to contain the shit-eatting grin growing across his face. She rolled her eyes at him, but didn't try to defend herself, stepping past him and into the trailer. It wasn't hard to find Trevor, who was also doing a bit of day drinking by the table in the far corner of the trailer. The woman she had seen before but had yet to get a name off of was busying herself with cleaning the kitchen, which seemed to be an impossible task she was throwing herself into.

Trevor caught sight of her and gestured for her to come over, "Everything looking good?"

She nodded, stepping forward and handing him over the file, "Yeah, everything's good. Someone's buying our stuff pretty quick, we'll be running out of everything if this keeps up."

He nodded, only half listening as he went over the numbers laid out before him. She felt a coffee mug slip into her hand thanks to the older woman. The woman smiled at her softly before turning and going back to cleaning, "Oh, thanks, uh..."

"Patricia." Michael spoke up as he entered inside, "Her name's Patricia."

Natalie looked to him for a second, then to her, forcing a polite smile, "Nice to meet you, Patricia."

The older woman smiled at her, looking surprised to see any manner's come out of this house, "It's a pleasure." She spoke with a thick Spanish accent, her voice reminding her over overbearing teacher's from back in high school.

Natalie turned back to Trevor, who's focus was no longer on the file but instead Patricia. He looked at her with something that she recognized as a crush. Natalie found it somehow endearing to see Trevor with a look of attraction on his face that wasn't purely sexual, but at the same time it made her feel completely idiotic for coming over in the most subtly skimpy outfit she had.

She suddenly felt herself cross her arms over her chest to hide the bra she put on specifically for him. She cringed at the thought that she wore anything for anyone. She never cared much to put on anything special when it came to matters of sex. If she was particularly interested in someone, she might throw something special on every once and a while, but there wasn't anyone she had much of a romantic attraction to in years.

She looked at Trevor, did she have feelings for him? She did a check on her vitals, her heart rate was fine, palms dry, nothing that would show that her sexual desires for her boss advanced into anything she didn't want. But still, somehow, she felt the black, ugly feeling of jealousy filling her chest to the point where she could almost taste it.

She spoke up quickly in the hopes no one realized the struggle going on in her head, "So is that all?"

Trevor looked back to her and she could feel what could only be called her heart sinking. He saw her with none of the prior intensity and desire he had so many times before. He saw her as just another worker, like sex and beers hadn't been shared between them. Not that sex and beer meant anything, she had to remind herself, but still, there was no connection, like looking at a stranger, "Yeah, we're good."

She paused for a second longer than she would have liked, fighting with herself for something to say. But she didn't, she turned to left before she made herself feel like anymore of an idiot. As she made her way to the door she stole a glance at Michael who was leaning on the counter as Patricia cleaned around him, he had a looked on his face she identified as sympathy. She hated him for that look he gave her.

She went back to her trailer with a headache. Finding herself already unhooking her bra and chucking it in the trash. She had a feeling she'd retrieve it later, but for now she wanted nothing to do with it, wanting all her humiliation to disappear. She couldn't understand why she was behaving like this, like she was some jealous girlfriend starved of her significant other's attention. She wanted to hit something, to shoot something, anything to get the anger for herself and for Trevor out of her system. But as she sat there in her living room, wracking her brain for something to distract her, she came up with little that could help.

Her thoughts went to Rebecca, her best friend. Her trip to Vespucci Beach was coming up in a few days. And now she couldn't be happier to leave Sandy Shores for a few days and sort out the whole mess she brought entirely upon herself. Perhaps a few days with friend's and keeping away from Trevor for a little while was what she needed to sort herself out and get over her jealousy towards Patricia.

She couldn't understand why she felt such resentment to a woman she had just met, she was being held against her will in a place she didn't know surrounded by people who killed for a living and felt no regret. Natalie couldn't help but see that Patricia didn't seem entirely fearful in the short time they interacted, in fact seeming to look quiet at home picking up after her kidnappers' mess. Perhaps she was crazy.

The brunette pushed her intrusive thoughts away, not wanting to think about her feelings or her boss any longer. She got up and went to her bedroom, deciding the best way to ignore her embarrassing realizations was to throw herself into packing for her vacation.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

She had gone through her weekend suitcase and extra bag three times to make sure she had absolutely everything she needed. It wasn't necessarily her need to make sure she had everything she could possibly need, but rather to keep her mind busy so it didn't wander those couple blocks away and into her boss' home.

By the time she was positive there was no more packing and checking she could possibly do, it was nearing the time for her to leave and meet up with Rebecca. She looked at the folder on the kitchen counter that awaited Trevor's approval. She grimaced at it, wishing she didn't have to go over just yet. But she understood there would most likely be hell to pay if she skipped out on her duties just to avoid an awkward situation.

She snagged the file as she loaded up her car for her trip, going over in her head what she would say to him when she saw him again. For a second, she thought she was over thinking it all, that maybe the cold shoulder that Trevor had presented her was just a fluke and the next time he saw her it would be back to normal. Natalie shook her head, even if it was a one time thing, she wasn't going to just ignore it. She didn't want to be treated that way, she didn't want anyone to think that treating her like that was alright.

Natalie drove over to his trailer with her head held a little higher and her jaw and shoulders squared. She was sure she was ready for anything that she'd have to face when she arrived. She pulled over to the side of the street outside his trailer, finding Michael on the porch smoking what had to be a pretty high priced cigar. He waved at her as he saw her get out of her car, speaking as she made her way up the steps.

"Trevor's not here."

She stopped in her tracks, her ego and arrogance deflating right there, suddenly feeling stupid for over thinking it so much. She tried to play off the fall in her shoulders and her sudden speechlessness, "Where'd he go?"

If Michael noticed, he didn't say anything, "He's out with Patricia again."

 _Again._ She tried to hide her frown, but it still marred deep into her face. She handed him over the folder in her hand, "Then just give him this when he comes back. Everything's alright, like usual. Chef's taking over for me until I come back."

He grabbed it and set it aside on the outdoor table, "You're leaving?"

Natalie was a bit surprised to see him interested in what she was doing, she always got a self-centered vibe off of him in the few times they encountered each other. Besides, his current state of visible self-loathing further confirmed her surprise. Perhaps he was just bored, "I'm going down to Los Santos for the weekend with an old friend of mine."

Something crossed over his face that she understood immediately; longing. She felt bad for bringing Los Santos up, forgetting that being forced away from his home was probably hell for him. She remembered the time she stayed with Franklin and how much she missed the towns surrounding the Alamo Sea. He ignored his own feelings, something she seemed to be doing a lot lately too, "Sounds fun."

She decided not to torture him with the details of her trip to LS, knowing he'd probably kill to be able to go back south. Plus she had to head out soon if she hoped to beat the traffic, "Yeah, I got to go. Make sure he gets that." Gesturing over to the file.

He nodded and stuck the cigar back in his mouth as his means of ending their small talk. She gave a small smile as her goodbye and turned, stopping again as he spoke up, "Do you have a crush on him or something?"

She thanked whatever god was out there right now that he couldn't see her face just then, it probably showed what she didn't want anyone to know, and yet she wasn't entirely sure what that feeling was exactly. It felt like all the headache inducing thoughts she kept at bay for the past few days slammed right back to her with gusto. She just wished that whatever was going on stopped. It all made her feel uneasy and just the slightest bit nauseous.

Natalie turned back to him, trying to look as casual and nonchalant as she possibly could. Despite the fact that Michael wore a pair of Aviators that covered most his face, she felt that the answer to his question was already written all over his face, she only wished that she knew the answer herself because this was starting to get crazy.

"No, of course not, I'm not suicidal."

–

Her friends were running a bit late by the time she arrived at Vespucci Beach, leaving her with some time to herself. As much as the idea of being alone with nothing to do was the last thing she wanted for the past few days, she welcomed it now. Her head was no longer in a fog of stress, perhaps it was being away from Sandy Shores that helped out.

She did still love her home, but there was far too much going on there for her liking, despite most of what was troubling her was her own self-made issues. Being in Vespucci Beach with nothing to do just seemed like the best thing that could happen to her for the time being.

She lounged on the front of her car as she waited for her friends to make it. She grabbed a case of beer on her way to LS and was now sampling one of them. She tuned into her favorite radio station, one that she'd grown to love from her frequent trips to Los Santos that also unfortunately was not on the airwaves in Sandy Shores.

She started to people watching, seeing joggers and beach-goers alike pass by through her pair of sunglasses. She had a faint sense of sadness nestled in her chest, almost wishing to have an average life, one where she didn't have to kill, where she would've never had to deal with her confused feelings about her meth-head boss. But she thought better of it, it was crazy to change life goals over a few tough weeks.

A car was soon to park next to her within the next hour, her life-long best friend immediately jumping for the driver's side, waving wildly to Natalie. In only a few strides Rebecca had her in a crushing bear hug. She hugged her friend back tightly, burying her face into her shoulder. Natalie didn't realize how much she missed her, but as soon as she saw her she did her best not to well up with tears. Everything just seemed so hard nowadays, and being friends with Becca just seemed like the easiest thing in the world.

Becca pulled away, cupping her friend's face in her hands and getting a good look at her. She squealed in her excitement, "You look so great!"

Soon enough the other two came out of the car. One she knew from back in high school, Rebecca's boyfriend John. It was no secret John had a crush on Becca for ages, it was about time she came around. He was tall and blonde, muscular and just all around gorgeous. He was perfect for her too, they were both so happy around each other even before they were dating, it was a wonder how they hadn't ended up together sooner.

The other was new to Natalie, remembering from the text that his name was Avery. He was thinner and nerdier looking than his friend John, but still pretty good looking and friendly enough. They made their quick and slightly awkward introductions and were soon unloading just the essentials of for their day at Del Perro from their cars. Rebecca wasted no time in chatting up a storm and filling Natalie in about how absolutely perfect John was and didn't stop until there was a hot dog in her hand from a cart on the boardwalk.

–

The girls and the boys split up as it was nearing sunset, the guys going by the shore and the girls touring the shops lining the boardwalk aimlessly. Rebecca seemed to steer most of the conversation, not that Natalie minded, there wasn't much to tell her. Actually, there wasn't much she could tell her. Her life now seemed to be consumed by crime, when she wasn't helping in Trevor's ever growing methamphetamine business she was at a gun range with an untraceable gun. Even now, said gun was tucked inside her beach bag in case things got hairy.

She barely felt like Rebecca's friend anymore, just some person who was pretending to be her. Her entire life seemed like something she had to hide from the most important person in her world, whether is was a fear for her friend's safety or fear of her friend never seeing her the same way. When asked about her life there was only some small things she could give away and it left her feeling sad that she couldn't pour her heart out to anyone.

The only thing Natalie couldn't keep hidden was the healing bite mark on the crook of her neck, having to tell her it was from an overzealous partner, but the only detail she revealed about said 'lucky man' was that she worked with him. Rebecca didn't seem suspicious in the least, she had no reason to be for so long after all.

"So what do you think of Avery?" Rebecca asked with no follow up, looking over a few dresses on the rack in front of her.

Natalie glanced at her as she was browsing from a table of knick-knacks, "Avery? He seems pretty cool."

Rebecca lowered her sunglasses to get a good look at her friend, a smile spreading across her face "Yeah, but do you like him?"

She had to laugh a little, shaking her head, "It's a little early to figure out if I like him or not, don't you think?"

"Well, he likes you, y'know." She nodded as if to further her sureness, "Actually, he thinks you're 'pretty hot'."

Natalie grinned, "Does he now?"

"You should totally go out with him."

She flinched a little. Dating someone, especially someone who wasn't in the crime life like she was seemed like a very bad idea. Even a single date with Avery could lead to a lot of hell. But she didn't want to let Rebecca down, "I'll think about it."

By then they decided to head over to a local bar and meet up with the guys for a night of drinking before they retired to the hotel. The bar was packed with drunk tourists, a flaw with vacationing on the weekend, though it was a sure thing they would end up drunk tourists too well before last call for drinks.

They picked a table as far away from the general noise as possible, sharing more than a few beers and stories of other times alcohol had gotten the best of them. As John was retelling a story of how he once woke up in a church after a two day bender, Natalie couldn't help but throw a few subtle glances Avery's way.

She had to admit, he was pretty attractive. He had a particular unkempt scruffiness, his hair so casually disheveled it looked fashionable and a 5 o'clock shadow that advanced half an inch. He was tall and thin and had a look about him that seemed to ooze snarky humor. In all honesty, he didn't seem as much of a law abiding citizen as she took him for. Perhaps he sells Deludamol to angst-ridden hipsters or just knew a pretty good dealer and partied on the darker side of the nightlife often. But she doubted he had any part in mass trade of America's most dangerous drug and it was much less likely his line of work involved killing.

Avery made eye contact with her when she forgot to space out her glances, smiling a little more when he caught her. She forced a smile to try to hide her embarrassment. He turned to their friends and spoke up, "How about we get out of here?"

None of them need much convincing, quickly shot gunning what was left of whatever it was in their glasses before the grabbed their stuff and navigated through the bar crowd and poured out onto the Vespucci streets. They quickly went back to their cars and grabbed as much booze as they could fit into their arms as they made it down to the beach to build a fire pit.

After a few rather unsuccessful tries a fire roared to life and illuminated the small spot they claimed for the remainder of their night. Natalie was quick to get drunk, after all, needing to loosen up more than the rest of them. She was quick with stories by then, but not stupid enough to compromise her situation, even flirting with Avery a bit, much to the happiness of Rebecca.

John was midway through a epic tale from a time in college where he was locked in a Burger Shot when Natalie's phone went off. She cursed quietly for having to miss the rest before quickly excusing herself to take the call. She stumbled away to a quieter location away from her friends before she looked to see who was interrupting.

Through her blurred vision she saw Trevor's name in bold letters on her phone. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly told her heart to stop doing that just as her mind started racing. Some small part of her held onto hope that he was calling to apologize for being an ass. The other part wondered why she would even care, he was just her boss, or it seemed that's all he wanted to be ever since he snatched up Patricia.

She tried to summon the most sober version of herself when she answered, "Trevor? Something wrong?"

"Where are you?" He spoke bluntly.

She glanced back at her friends who didn't wait up for her, the story already finishing without her. Damn. "I'm in Los Santos, remember? I'm here until Monday."

He almost seemed to ignore it, "I need you here now for a shipment."

Her need to work sprung to life inside her, suddenly yearning to be there and do anything she could. But by the distance between them there was no way she could get there as soon as needed. And even if she could, her current state of drunkenness would leave her unable to use a gun or write legibly. She bit her lip, "I don't think I can, Trevor; I'm drunk."

She heard a highly irritated groan come from the other end at her answer, that one unintelligible sound making her almost regret leaving for the weekend, "Nevermind" Was all Trevor said before the line cut and he was gone.

She wasn't sure if she should feel offended or regretful. Offended that he continued to treat her with such coldness, or regretful that she couldn't help in a stressful time for not only him, but the company she was dedicating life and limb to. But something told her to ignore it, ignore the thing within her that was telling her to humor everything set to stress her out, and she was beginning to see the appeal that apathetic side.

She turned to her friends and joined back into the inebriated conversations.

–

Her weekend seemed far to quick and Natalie seriously considered just not leaving and developing a life of freedom with the local homeless. But responsibilities still called to her and she found herself packing her car back up. Rebecca was already trying to make plans to reunite the new dynamic foursome for another weekend getaway. John had gently shushed her before she became to excited about anything when they were still in the hangover stages of their vacation.

While Becca and John had busied themselves with the last of their luggage that needed packing Avery slipped beside Natalie to help out with her own necessities, despite the fact she didn't need much help with such a small amount she took with her. Natalie didn't say anything about it though, she'd played this game plenty before, knowing what his intentions were.

"So turns out I live not far from Sandy Shores." He began, his eyes elsewhere to make the conversation seem casual.

She was the one to turn to him, "Oh yeah?"

He shrugged, "A little further south, not far from the prison. Anyways, I don't really go out much cause I work at home. I was hoping you would show me around some time."

She smiled, raising a brow, "Are you asking me out?"

He tried to play it off coolly, but there was the hint of a smile on his lips that she could definitely see, "If you want to call it that, then yeah, I'm asking you out on a date."

She laughed a little, but had to think about it for a moment. The good thing about Sandy Shores was that nearly everyone there was a criminal, meaning the dating pool left her with people who could handle themselves and handle her lifestyle. But with Avery, his legality status was still unconfirmed, which left both him and her with a lot of risk, which could potentially lead to either of their deaths. But despite logic and morals telling her it wasn't too great of an idea, she still wanted to try it out. Maybe he would just be a distraction for her while she got her emotions figured out, but it was good enough for her.

He looked at her when there was a few moments of silence in between them. She put his growing nervousness to rest, smiling wide at him and nodding, "Sure. Sounds great."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Natalie liked Trevor, that much soon became unavoidable to her. How much she liked him remained to be seen, but she liked him plenty enough for him to be another reason why it was difficult to sleep at night and enough for her to outwardly avoid him when she could. When she wasn't thinking about him, she was usually mentally kicking herself for thinking about him. Even if she admitted to her feelings for him, the source of her obsession wasn't in her attraction, but rather the way she was being so carelessly ignored over Patricia these past three weeks.

She'd grown to have a childish disdain for Patricia, despite the fact the older woman had always treated her with a motherly kindness the few times they had interacted. But the black jealousy that seemed to consume Natalie these days had unfortunately expanded to an anger towards the kidnapped woman. Nat tried her best to tell herself that it was stupid to hold anything against her, but her conscious refused to listen.

There were times where she didn't want to indulge in her pity party and that's when her mind went to Avery. She was worried for him, worried that who she was was going to kill him. Even then, she still held firm to the plans that they casually date and see what happened. Some part of her still wanted normality in her life and dating someone who wasn't in the life was about the most normal thing she could do for herself.

A life of crime proved taxing, leaving her with one eye always open and a primal, sadistic nature when it came to her own survival. Somehow these instinct didn't carry on to the protection of the innocent, but all she cared to do with chalk it up as one of her many flaws and blame it on being her father's child.

Her date with Avery was drawing closer. After exchanging contact information they set and official date that was only a couple days from then. She had promised herself beforehand she wouldn't sleep with him, at least not on the first few dates. She realized that her sleeping around didn't bode to well and it was a surprise sharing a bed with Franklin one night somehow didn't end up with her missing another digit. But knowing her luck, that karmic action would come and bite her in the ass sooner or later.

Work lead her to McKenzie Airfield this particular day, a high-risk shipment was coming in a little later today and she had been requested by Ron to help out just in case things got hairy. Her gun skills were still a bit rough, but Chef vouched for her, saying she'd still be useful. So with Chef's blessing, she found herself among a handful of Trevor's subordinates prepping for their supplier plane to land and for any anomalies surely waiting to happen.

She sat on a crate, occasionally checking the skies for the plane which was due in a few minutes. She had a Hawk & Little SMG in her hands, it was given to her by one someone in her small band of guys. She didn't have very much experience with anything that brought rapid fire, but there wasn't any time to fret about it. She knew she could hold her own if she tried hard enough and kept her cool when the bullets started flying.

Natalie soon heard someone come running out of the control center stationed in the nearby trailer. It was Oscar, who looked panicked as he wrangled up the team, explaining to all of them that there were two convoys of Azetcas on their way to the air strip to collect from the cargo plane coming in. The cargo plane itself was being shot down and the engines were failing, and when the plane eventually landed, it wouldn't be pretty.

They saw in the distance the plane they'd been waiting for that was tailed by a plume of smoke coming out of the engine. On the ground they could hear the familiar rumble of incoming cars. There was no time for any more idle preparing, half the group went into cover, waiting for the Aztecas to arrive, while the others were watching and waiting for the plane to land and to get the pilot and shipment to safety as quick as possible.

The plane was nearing and Oscar was in the trailer trying to help the pilot down. Natalie was mere feet away as the landing gear of the plane touched down and bounced from impact, cracking and bending underneath the weight of the plane until it completely broke off and splintered off every which way. The plane tipped forward and the nose was shoved into the ground, the belly of the plane dragging roughly against the hard ground, dirt and debris kicking up into the air until the aircraft finally slowed and stopped, half the front of the plane inside the earth.

Nat ended up in cover behind the crate she'd previously been sitting on, making sure her SMG was loaded and ready. She took a deep breath to keep her heart from pacing, closing her eyes and going to her happy place until she heard the first shot. She jumped out of cover and opened fire at their attackers.

There was eight SUVs total, three to her left and the five to her right nearby the control center. She couldn't reasonably count the number of Aztecas they had to face, but it was enough where Trevor's people were starting to get back into a proverbial corner. All of them were well armed and a few wearing protection, highly skilled and hardened veterans of the criminal lifestyle.

Natalie was just some dumb lackey to Trevor Philips Industries and the pressure was beginning to weight down on her. She managed to shot down at least one on her own, but she had little opportunity to help out much besides just not getting killed.

She had to back up into the hanger as the Azetcas pressed forward. A few of their own people were already shot down and Nat was sure the pilot had been reduced to a bloody pulp from not only the crash landing but the attacking forces.

Natalie locked eyes with an Aztec who sprang up not 10 feet away from her. She barely had time to act before he started firing. Somehow, she was slightly quicker, firing a few rounds just under his neck and the kickback making the rest into her head. She let out some kind of primal sound in triumph but still went backwards to gain her bearings, sure the rest would cover her. She heard a noise behind her and quickly wiped around, but trying to spring to action too late. An Azteca had her and threw her to the ground, him quickly going on top of her with a knife in his hand.

She yelled, trying to catch a teammate's attention to no avail, all the while fighting off the man on told of her. Her legs were pinned and useless, and her arms were useful but at awkward angles. She tried punching and shoving, but her attacks barely made him flinch, the knife was coming closer and her breathing had already stopped.

He grabbed her by her hair and slammed her head back, black stars bursting into her vision and her muscles went slack for a second too long. She felt the blade cut under her eyes and she winced away, causing the knife to drag to her hairline before she found her strength again and forced him back, but still not off of her.

His teeth were barred and eye were intent on hers, ready to see the life drain from her face when he stabbed her through her eye socket. She was losing this fight and she knew it, the knife drawing nearer but slower this time. She was losing hope up until someone found her and shot her attacker through the head. His body collapsed on top of her and for a second she could've sworn she was in Blaine County's National Park again with Evan's dead body crushing her. But she couldn't dwell just now, not with the fight for the shipment still raging.

She got up to meet her savior and found Chef. He looked her over to see if she was alright, before nodding to her, almost to assure she would be fine, and then heading off to drive away the rest of the Aztecas. She was soon to follow, ignoring the stringing pain of the new cut across her cheekbone.

It didn't take long for the remaining Aztecas to pile back into their SUVs and book it back to their home base, leaving McKenzie and bloody mess. There was no time for Trevor's team and the people hiding in the control station to have a breath of relief when their enemies accepted defeat, too busy towing away the bodies littered across the strip and planning their departure before anyone started poking around and causing anymore unneeded issues.

Chef soon returned to Nat after he instructed the others on where to dump the bodies. He tucked his gun away and wiped away the perspiration off his forehead. He gave her concerned, "Do you need to sit down?"

"Why would I need to sit down?" She asked before it hit her, an uneasy, sickly lightheadedness she would get when she used to donate blood. She looked down at herself and saw the trail of blood going down her shirt from the wound on her cheek, she didn't realize it was that deep a cut. She winced and side-stepped to get a hold of the nearby wall to help her keep upright, though it didn't help any with the queasiness.

Chef went to her side and held her up, "Alright, come with me. We'll get you fixed up."

–

She found herself inside the cook site. One the second floor among all the supplies that kept most of Sandy Shores happy and wired. Chef had called upon an associate to help fix up Natalie, he was already higher than a kite and his hand was unsteady enough to do more damage than good. She was sat up on the table while a middle aged woman who turned out to be a former nurse stitched up her cheek. Natalie was just shy of a concussion so all she really had to worry about was how much cover up she'd have to use when her cut healed into yet another ugly scar.

While the woman taking care of her was busying herself with the stitching, Natalie couldn't help but notice Trevor enter the room. She quickly looked away, pretending to not even notice him, but she feared he already caught her. Natalie sighed softly, causing the nurse to scold her and tell her to stay still. She looked back at Trevor, finding him looking right back at her. She knew that look he gave her all too well, she noticed that a turn on of his was her facing danger and this was no different, he wanted to sleep with her.

She hadn't seen that look of his in awhile, it used to excite her, but now, she was just annoyed about it. She didn't meet him with an kind of acceptance, just a cool glare then looking back to her nurse as she ran over what Natalie had to do to keep her cut infection free.

Unfortunately, she couldn't keep up with her silent treatment when her nurse and Chef made their leave for more important things than the face of some young woman. He ambled towards her casually, nearly ready to take her by her hips and make her his again, but she cut him off, "Where's Patricia?" She couldn't help but keep the acid away from her voice, but she didn't care, she wanted to know she was pissed off at him.

He stopped in his tracks, staring at her for a long moment. She saw a fleeting flicker of sadness cross his face, but he pushed it away, "Gone."

She hopped off the table, collecting her keys and cigarettes and stuffing them back in her pocket, not bothering to look back at him, "And Michael?"

"Gone too."

Natalie couldn't help but sneak a glance at her boss, she wondered if he was lonely with everyone gone from his home, she hoped to see if something about his proved her suspicion. She dashed the thought away however, it wasn't her problem, "I have to go."

His eyebrows furrowed, "Why?"

She shrugged slightly, already heading towards the stairs, meaning to end to conversation as soon as she could, "I have other things to do."

As she made it downstairs and out of the cook site on her way to her trailer, she was slowly starting to regret behaving in such a rude way. He was her boss after all, and also a man who wasn't big his self-control. She had a feeling he wouldn't lash out in some way that would land her in a grave, but she wasn't sure.

She wasn't sure how long she was going to stay mad at him. Frankly, she did feel a little good that his attention was back on her, but she had too much pride to just let him back in that easy. She wanted Trevor to regret blowing her off like that, totally ignoring her over a kidnapped housewife. She wanted to be the one to reject his advances this time, ignore him for other things just like he did to her. In the simplest terms, she wanted to be as petty as she could.

Natalie made it home safe and she went into her bathroom to check out the new cut on her face. Looking at herself through the mirror, she found it started from from the edge of her ear and stretched all the way to the side of her nose and no amount of fancy makeup work would cover it up in the slightest. How she was going to explain it away to Avery on their date tomorrow, she didn't know, but she had to think of something.

Facing that near death experience really made her consider if dating Avery was a good idea. She was constantly and sometimes willingly in danger and putting someone who was just an average person in a position where he could get harmed in any way wasn't something she was comfortable with. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket, getting ready to dial in his number and cancel their date, but she paused, reconsidering.

It wasn't like she was going to be marrying the guy, it was just one night out. She felt deserved to have time for herself and away from all the mayhem that her job required. Avery was fun, easy-going, and just in general, easy to be around; something she needed more of in her life. Just one date wouldn't do harm and if something did ever come out of it, like the hopes of a relationship, she would deal with it when it came.

–

She chose something simple for her date, although a little nicer than her usual choice of a graphic tee shirt and denim cut off shorts. She went with a button down shirt and shorts that ended a little lower on her thigh, looking in the mirror, she felt slightly dissatisfied with her general look, after another few wardrobe changes, she was back on her original outfit.

They planned to meet at a nearby bar on Route 68 in Harmony, hoping to share a few light drinks and just getting to know each other in a more one on one setting. She was happy to get out of the house for more than just drug trafficking and even happier to spend her time with a man who was anyone but Trevor or the men in her family.

She arrived at the bar a couple minutes earlier than their planned time, finding a spot in the corner that was away from all the business and also had a good view of the front door. Even with this date almost assuredly having no risk, she couldn't help but still use her defensive instincts. Her gun was still on her and she still had an eye out for anything suspicious.

Avery arrived on time, looking around the bar until he found Natalie in the far corner. He smiled when he saw her and she couldn't help but find a smile creep across her own face. He sat across from her in the booth she'd chosen for them just as a chubby blonde waitress took their orders. Conversation between them started out awkwardly, both of them without their outgoing friends to get the ball rolling. But through common interest, chatter between them got easier quickly, as well as the steady supply of beers and fish fry.

After hours of never ending conversation between the two, one of the waitresses eventually told them it was near closing time and they would have to make their leave soon. They finally departed, but still lounging in the parking lot for a few more minutes.

Natalie couldn't help but admire Avery under the glow of the streetlight. He was thin and tall, possibly her weight or even less. With his almost unhealthy looking thinness, his features were sharp, though the strength of his jaw was hidden under his beard. If he cleaned himself up more than his signature stylish unkempt look, he could've possibly modeled.

She came to find out she genuinely did like him, he was so easy to talk to. Even if some sort of relationship didn't blossom from their various dates, he made for a great friend. She suddenly felt his lips on hers. The kiss he gave was short, small, and sweet. There was no need to push it any further and she found she enjoyed it. In all honesty, she hadn't been kissed like that in ages.

When they separated, she could feel the blood rush to her face, she could only hope the light was low enough for him not to see. If she saw her blushing like a schoolgirl he didn't show it, smiling at her and bidding her farewell before he walked back to his own car.

She watched his car leave the parking lot before she got into her own car. She still felt the smile on her face, thinking about how successful their date had been. She was surprised to find she was already excited for a next date, and also a little nervous too.

She made it back home and was already stripping off her clothes before she made it to her bedroom to change into her night clothes. Just as she finished undressing and dressing again, there was a knock on her door, or rather, a loud banging. She jumped a bit at the sudden noise and her heart rate was already skyrocketing. She leapt towards her gun on the kitchen counter, grabbing it tightly in her fist before she slowly stepped to the door. She looked through the eye hole and let out a huge breath in both relief and annoyance. Trevor, great.

She unlocked and opened up the door, making no attempt to hide the handgun, "I could've killed you, y'know."

He ignored the comment After all, he could easily end her life before she could even think to pull the trigger. He didn't ask for an invite inside, stepping forward on his own accord, forcing her to take a few steps back, "What the _fuck_ is your problem, eh?"

She was caught off guard for a moment, but quickly tried to regain her apathetic mode she had been using on him for the past few weeks, "What are you talking about."

Trevor jabbed his finger at her, laughing with annoyance, "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Natalie."

She turned away from him, setting her gun back down and going into her fridge, "Did you come over here just to yell at me?"

He suddenly appeared right behind her, she turned to face him, "Yes I did come over to fucking yell at you."

She frowned deeply, crossing her arms and trying to look as defiant as she could, "Shouldn't you be worrying about Patricia instead of me?

His eyes boor down into hers, "Why do you care about Patricia?"

"Why do you?" She shot back, suddenly feeling childish.

He didn't speak for a long moment, perhaps trying to size her up, or calming himself so he didn't rip her head off, "You're jealous."

All her false confidence ran right out the door and was replaced with uneasiness. She was left speechless for a moment, trying to think of something to divert the accusation, but only coming up with, "No I'm not."

A grin spread on his face, he knew he had her, "Was that what Michael was talking about? You're jealous of Patricia?"

She turned away for him again, trying to hide her humiliation, "Why in the hell would I be jealous of her?"

His irritation grew, "Stop lying to me."

She was stuck. He already knew and she insisted on lying. Natalie sighed, defeated, "Fine, I was jealous of her. Whatever."

She expected triumph to come of him, but it didn't, he sat down on her couch, looking up at her, "So, you like me."

She breathed out of her nose, fighting with herself, trying to find the best way to articulate without pouring her heart out to her boss, "I-I guess." She shook her head, she could do better than that, "I thought we were friends, Trevor."

He looked surprised, "Friends?"

She sighed, she couldn't bring herself to look at him, "Yeah, friends. I figured when you spent nights hanging out with me, that made us friends. I just..." She ran her hands through her hair, so much for not pouring her heart out, "Y'know, you're a real asshole for just up and ignoring me completely like I wasn't even there."

He didn't say anything for a long while and she realized that he actually didn't know what to say. It must not have been often people showed legitimate care for him without also fearing him like Ron did. She slowly began to feel a little bad for putting him in this situation, speaking up again to break the increasingly awkward silence, "Look, next time you decide to act like I don't exist, give me a heads up beforehand, alright?"

There was still silence from him for another moment before he finally answered, maybe this was just as "Yeah... sure."

She sighed, but smiling ever so slightly at his answer, "Great. Now I do you want to help me polish off the case of beer in my fridge?"

Trevor found his own smile, nodding. She grinned, glad to have things at least somewhat cleared up and him willing to spend time with her once again. There was still some stuff else that needed to be addressed, but that was for a later time, and she'd rather not address her admitted attraction for him just then. For now, all they needed to do was just become friends again and drink like they used to, and when she felt he deserved it again, bed mates.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Natalie wasn't going to permit herself to say life had somehow gotten a little easier for her, because that would only allow room for things to once again get much, much worse. But she could hardly deny to herself that breathing came a little easier than before in the day and by nightfall, falling asleep came quicker than it ever had before. Which was a miracle on it's own since insomnia was a bad proven habit of hers since she was a child.

There wasn't just one soul reason for the lighter burden she carried and the skip in her step. First was Trevor; since her confession to something along the lines of a crush, Trevor had noticeably hung around much more. She had stuck to her word that she wanted to wait to jump back into bed with him. He didn't seem entirely bothered either, she wasn't his only card in the deck, after all. The weeks before they started screwing once again, it was still easy to be around each other outside of when they had work.

She was one of the few women in Sandy Shores that wasn't strung out on a myriad of narcotics, so could hold a conversation for more than a few minutes. She was also one of the few mostly sober residents that could stand to be around Trevor, whether it was because of his activities or just the general look and feel about him. In any case, she was the perfect local candidate for a shared drink and to waste spare time with.

Second came Avery. Despite a moral part of her trying its best to convince her it was wrong, she still continued to see him. They had dates nearly every weekend, their dates were never very serious, mostly a restaurant or a bar or even a movie was their venue of choice, often choosing places where they could get their hands on a stiff drink. In between the times hanging out together, they were often exchanging texts and the occasional phone call. Despite them running around like lovestruck teens, Natalie couldn't say she was smitten. Avery first off was just a great guy to be around, the fact that he was attractive was an added bonus.

She put that attractiveness to use on date four. After a full day together exploring the swamplands west of Sandy Shores, they returned to his place out towards wine country. His home was small and surprisingly nice for someone his age, but his job as an IT tech for a major company paid him better than most. Natalie spent little time admiring his home furnishings before she found herself in his room and in his bed.

The brunette had made it a point not to knock boots with him as quickly as she usually did, sex recently seeming to bring dire consequences for whatever reason. But by week four, she had a personal new record and didn't want him to think she just wasn't that into him, when in fact, she surprisingly was more 'into' him than she expected.

The only thing that seemed to be a problem that still lingered in her head was just how far their mutual feelings went. She knew by then that she cared for him beyond that of a one-night-stand or just a friend of a friend, and she was sure that wasn't one-sided. They were approaching date seven this coming weekend and most people would begin to think about what could become of the person they'd been seeing for the past month and a half.

Avery seemed pretty much like most people, which began to worry her. Commitment wasn't her strong suit or something she ever had much of a desire for, especially when it came to total monogamy in a relationship. But above all that, what concerned her the most was that an actual committed relationship with Avery wasn't a terrifying idea as it usually would be. In reality, having him all to herself was actually a pleasant idea. Despite that, the idea still made her squirm where she stood purely out of old habit.

But she could only do what she'd always done, ignore it until she just couldn't ignore it anymore. She had the concept practically down to a science by then.

–

He asked for their seventh date to be at the bar they had their first date at. She marked it down as a place where they could be sentimental, a good place to propose a more one-on-one kind of relationship. She was the first to arrive like she had been the first time they arrived, but this time around she chose a space closer to the bartenders, knowing she would need a steady flow of alcohol to get through the night.

Avery came around not long after, finding his seat beside her and ordering his drink. He soon turned to her, a smile on his face, very pleased to see her and she turned out to be just as pleased to see him, "Hey."

She did her best to look unaware of what was bound to come, and by the looks of it, he bought it, "Hey yourself."

His drink came in record time, giving her a few precious seconds before he said what she'd been fearing, "I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

She washed down the lump in her throat, "Yeah?"

He rubbed his head, his hair looking a little neater than usual, in fact, most his appearance looking a little cleaner. He was trying to score points, this must be serious, "Well, I was offered a job a few days ago, pays much better than I'm getting..."

She was lost, prompting him to continue "Okay...?"

He cleared his throat and kept glancing at almost everything but her, he was nervous. She couldn't help but find it endearing, "Well, this job, it's kinda far away. Like, a couple hours far away. I would have to move."

She felt herself frown, surprised to find she would miss him.

Avery continued before she had a chance to speak, "Look, I know it would be a huge step and I'll give you all the time you'd need, but I was hoping, maybe, you could move in with me when I accept the job?"

She froze up for a moment, her jaw nearly dropping. She expected a request to take things to the next step, but he instead asked to jump a few steps after that. She hadn't been prepared coming into the bar and now she felt even more so. The look on his face turned from something of childish hope to pessimistic worry as the seconds ticked on with no response coming out of her.

She felt bad for leaving him hanging like that, seeming him slowly lose hope. But if she could only center her brain for one second to actually weigh any of her options options without ending up in a panic, she could give him an answer.

"I..." She dropped off, prying for something to say but coming up short, she hated being put on the spot like that, even when she knew something like that was coming. Natalie had to respond, she knew that much. But as of now, the only decision she could possibly make was to make no decision at all, "Give me time to think about it alright?"

His shoulders slumped a little, deflated. It wasn't the answer he had hoped would come out of her, but it was a hell of a lot better than just a no. So he put back on a smile, though it looked a little forced, and she returned the smile with a sympathetic one. She couldn't help but take a mental sigh of relief, glad she had more time to think about his request and think about just him in general. Leaving the important decisions for another day, she sipped her drink and looked back at him, "So tell me about your new job."

–

Natalie was alone in her home, the TV on but playing on mute, everything in her home filled to the brim with an eerie, near deafening silence. She paid no attention to the stark quiet anyways, her thoughts only on Avery and what he had offered. What he had to offer was domestication; a warm home to come home to after a long day at a decently paying job, being greeted by a man who would welcome her with open arms and kiss. But what she saw in all this was a form of hell, a life for the mundane, where people's hopes and dreams went to die in preference of safety and an assurance of a long life.

Nat held no desire for a long life if said life promised nothing she had wanted for so long. She didn't want safety and assurance if that didn't provide her what she would consider adventure. She wanted to explore the world and the many facets of what the moral majority would consider a sinful taboo, whether it be drugs or other hidden pleasures loved by the few. She had gotten a taste of that since meeting Trevor, and despite the impending doom that made it's rounds in her life, she felt she could go further in her career.

But at the same time, her goals brought with them fear, and even though her wants still remained, she wasn't sure if she could stand another time where she'd be held captive by Trevor's enemies. Her time with The Lost was something that never faded away from her nightmares. The terror that she felt for it she still carried in her nub of a finger and it would never truly leave her, she couldn't possibly forget the horror and pain that they tortured her with for a week. And maybe, that, and that alone was as good enough a reason as any other to leave Sandy Shores and what she had craved behind and go off with Avery.

But leaving would be hard even still. She had grown roots in Blaine county, found friendship with Trevor and his associates, found a mother she never had in Janet, and a home she was proud of whether it was behind the bar at The Yellow Jack Inn or the confines of her double-wide trailer. She loved Sandy Shores, and even though she knew she would want to part with it in the future for the exotic worlds, she would miss it. Departing her home for one in a suburb was never in the plan, but with Avery in tow, it didn't seem all too bad.

She looked over at the clock, the day was approaching evening and Trevor would be home by then. She was due to deliver her inventory summary and had been putting it off most the day so she could see her boss. She was hoping to get some kind of insight from him, or perhaps a reason to stay and make her decision a hell of a lot easier. Knowing Trevor, that wasn't going to really happen, nevertheless, she could at least try.

She walked over to his trailer instead of driving, arriving there already having worked up a sweat from the relentless heat. She entered without knocking as was customary by then. She found Trevor with Ron. Trevor sitting on the couch, trying to drink himself into a coma which was a pleasant surprise compared to him usually finding his oblivion in meth. Ron was pacing across the entire trailer, prattling on and on about lizard people invading and trying to swipe the rug right from under TPI's metaphorical feet.

Natalie handed over the file in her hands to Trevor, who barely even looked at it before tossing the folder to the side. Inventory was boring and that's why he paid someone else to do what he would rather not waste time doing. After all, he knew Natalie long enough to trust she wouldn't screw around with his supply.

Nat made herself welcome to his case of beer, Ron seeming almost oblivious to her presence as he continued to drone about the dreaded illuminate. He only stopped when he nearly ran right into her, looking startled to realize she was even there.

She raised a brow at him, a smile on her face, "See something you like?"

That had effectively flabbergasted him, leaving him stammering for something to say. Ron was the picture of someone who didn't have too much experience around women other than the one's inside his computer or in an old girlie magazine. She once heard he was married; it was a shame the woman didn't stick around for a charmer like him.

Trevor was the one to save him from his face turning any redder, "Ron! Don't you have something else to do?"

Ron looked back at his boss, staring for a moment to try and see what he meant. He got the hint that he wasn't wanted and departed quickly, tail between his legs.

Natalie turned back to her boss, "Do you remember be mentioning Avery?"

He raised a ragged eyebrow at him, "The dude you've been screwing?"

She nodded a little, sitting herself on top of his counter, "Yeah, he wants to take things to the next level. As in, me and him moving all the way up to Duwamps."

"That's pretty far north."

She sighed, "I know, so if I do move in with him, I can't work for you." She was trying to send him a hint there, asking him to give her a reason to stay, even demanding she stayed, so she didn't have to choose.

Natalie was given a glimmer of hope from the look on his face. What she said seemed to leave a rather bitter taste in his mouth, or perhaps it was just the beer. Either way a grimace spread across his face, "So you want to leave?"

She could almost detect a hint of defensiveness, perhaps he really didn't want her to go, "I don't know. I was hoping you could shine a light on this."

He stood up, throwing his empty bottle towards the general direction of his trash bin. He missed by a mile, "If you want to leave, then leave."

He seemed like he was done talking, the point becoming even clearer when he left his trailer without so much as a goodbye. She frowned, confused at the sudden mood change. She took her beer and tossed it into the near overflowing trash can, grabbing Trevor's discarded bottle and setting it away as well, eventually leaving the trailer.

On her way back to her own home, she still struggled with how she could possibly come up with a decision. But seeing Trevor had definitely helped. There was something between them, that much she knew from their small interaction. It brought her some relief to find that the attraction wasn't purely one sided, or at the very least, he wanted her around.

But was it still enough for her to stay? Staying in Sandy Shores and doing the jobs she was doing was often known for having a rather high mortality rate. Growing so old she couldn't wipe her own ass wasn't ideal to Natalie, but her life being cut before she really lived as much as she wanted wasn't something that was on her list either.

She took a detour. Instead of making it to her own home and chalking it up as a short trip, she ventured towards The Yellow Jack Inn. She knew Janet would be working that day, as she always worked weekday afternoons. Janet could perhaps be the best person to look at Natalie's situation without too harsh of a bias. And it had also proven awhile since she'd properly seen her adoptive mother and she was well due for a visit, at least before she made a decision that could quiet possibly make her move out of state.

The bar had a couple customers as the day was beginning to touch evening, mostly the regulars that found their solace in a stiff drink. Janet was behind the bar as Natalie expected to find her. The red head saw her the moment she walked through the doors, her face lighting up to see that Nat was alive and well, "I wondered when I was going to see you again."

Natalie grinned at the warm welcome, slipping behind the bar and hugging her old boss. Janet wrapped her arms around her, holding her there for a moment before she pulled away and got a good look at her former employee. Her smile fell a bit to see yet another scar, this one lining her cheekbone. She didn't ask where she got it because she already knew. From work.

Nat ignored the look on Janet's face, not wanting to get on the subject of her safety because it was a losing battle for the both of them. She slipped back out from behind the bar and found herself a barstool right across from her former boss, "I figured I would stop by."

Janet busied herself with pouring the younger girl a drink, "I can assume this isn't just a social call, right?"

Natalie sighed, suddenly feeling worn out. She grabbed her drink and downed half of it before she threw herself into her tale of crime and budding romance. Sparing no detail of what had happened and what she was feeling. And all in all, it felt therapeutic. She hadn't wanted to bother Trevor with the details of her feelings and hid her life of drugs from Avery and Rebecca. Janet was the only person who could truly get it, listen to her pour her heart out for her to see and do her best to help her pick up the pieces. It would be hard to leave Janet behind if she left.

When Natalie had finished and left with nothing more to speak on, Janet answered, speaking calmly to her, "You really do like him don't you?"

Natalie looked up at her, formerly looking into her glass, "Avery?"

"Trevor."

A bitterness that didn't come from her drink formed in her mouth, "Is it so obvious?"

Janet sighed, crossing her arms, "Not really, but I know you well enough to know that you don't normally have crushes. And by the looks of it, you got two big ones."

Natalie held her head and groaned, "What do I do?"

The older woman looked her over, taking pity on a poor girl who was finally feeling lovestruck well after her teen years, "Do what hurts the least, Sugar."

Natalie hated the answer, but it nevertheless got her thinking. _Hurt_. It didn't necessarily have to come from the turmoil of emotion. Sometimes pain was as simple as a cut, or a bullet. She was almost sure she had her answer by then.

She got up, feeling a little bit tipsy from her trip to her old workplace, but that was to be expected when you had a few. She went to hug Janet again, hearing the older woman speak again, "If you leave, make sure you give me a proper goodbye, alright?"

She smiled to her and nodded, squeezing her one last time before she departed. On her way back home just as the sun had set and the air was cooling for another cloudless night, she couldn't help but feel sentimental about nights like these that once brought her fear. These would be her last nights in Sandy Shores, after all.

She pulled out her phone and found his number, tapping the call button. Within a few seconds, she heard Avery's voice through the other line, sounding happy to hear from her, "I was just thinking about you."

"Hey, how soon can I see you?"

–

She lay naked in the back of Avery's car with Avery pressed against her, just as bare as she was. His hand gently tracing patterns along her side. Both of them soaking up the quiet calm that surrounded them, the only sound was their breathing and the faint hum of an old country crooner singing about lost love coming from the radio.

Natalie couldn't help but smile, enjoying the simple touch Avery was giving her and the silence in her head. She looked up at him, pushing the stray strands of hair away from his face. He smiled more, "You're not going to have second thoughts on me are you?"

She smiled, "I'm not planning on it, no."

He smiled right back at her, grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles, "Good."

Natalie pulled herself closer, gently running a hand over his narrow chest. She didn't want to ruin the peace of the moment, but it had to come at some point, "I need to tell you something..."

Avery glanced down to look at her, "That doesn't sound too good. What's up?"

She sat up, breaking the lovely contact between them, "It'd be easier if I showed you. Do you mind if I drive?"

He had no reason not to agree, so he did. After some awkward shuffling between them, their day-old clothes were back on their bodies and their bodies were in the front seats. Natalie started up the engine and looked to him before she drove out of the empty parking lot they stayed at overnight, "Try to keep an open mind?"

She drove the way she was all too familiar with, stopping the car right off the side of McKenzie, a place she knew by heart. Avery was of course confused, getting out of the car with her. As they advanced towards the hangar she turned towards him, "This is where I work."

Avery looked down at her, looking rather unimpressed by one of Trevor's many base of operation, "Here?"

She took a deep breath, trying to find the will to take that leap of faith, "Yeah. I work for a guy who supplies to most of here and parts of Mexico..." She glanced his way, all this time having trouble looking at him, he was still at a loss, "More specifically, drugs and guns."

There was silence, a lot of silence. She expected it but it still filled her with fear. She stole another look at him and she saw shock and fear, but fear of a different nature than hers. He was afraid of her and she instantly regretted telling him a thing.

Natalie did her best to try to make it seem not as serious, by lying, "I hardly work with that, I just do security, I don't even touch a gun." She failed to mention a handgun was in the backpack she'd been carrying with her.

He took a step back, his hands in his hair and nearly ripping it all right off, unable to come up with a coherent sentence, "You-... How have-..."

She tried to put on the most calming voice she could, "It's not that serious, Avery. I've only been doing it a few months."

He let out a humorless snort, "Months?" He was pacing, she was biting her nails, "Jesus, are you an addict or something?!"

Nat frowned, "No! I don't touch drugs!" She insisted, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Have you killed people, Natalie?!" That shut her up quickly. And that was all the answer he needed, "You're a killer aren't you? God, is that how you lost your finger?"

She hid her hand behind her back, her voice wavering, still trying for some way to make this better, "A-Avery if you let me explain..."

He was backing up towards the car, holding his hand up to cut her off, "Don't bother. You a goddamned killer, Natalie! Did you think you could hide this?"

She certainly wished she did, but it was too late now. She watched him go towards his car, and she was facing the realization that she couldn't just let him leave.

There was a thing about loose ends, they had a tendency to bite you in the ass. It came back and got her good when they kept Evan alive and she was still waiting for the day when ditching her friends at their failed liquor heist knocked her in the head with karmic gusto. There was no doubt loose ends going to be her downfall, as they had brought down champion in her field for generations. So, while the choice was difficult, it was something she had to do to keep her living, so the action came just as quick as the choice.

She only needed to fire once, her hand steady while the rest of her felt on fire. It only took on bullet and Avery was on the ground, everything she knew about him dead and gone. Despite the pain she felt for killing her friend, she knew it was what she had to do. And while she felt crying, she didn't, only silently mourning.

It felt like hours passed as she looked down at the body of her incredibly short-term boyfriend. She tried to grasp at the good aspects of him, to prove to herself she should be more devastated about killing him. She knew wholeheartedly Avery is -was- a good person and that his passing was tragic, but she had no other choice. What if he went to the cops, it could effectively shut the entire operation down. She regretted ever bringing him there or ever thinking anyone outside of her career field would be okay with it.

She turned away, not wanting to look at him anymore. She felt sick to her stomach just by the thought of herself. She hated herself.

Natalie found she wasn't alone, Trevor was by the other side of the hangar. She didn't know how long he'd been there, but she knew it was long enough for him to know she killed Avery and made her final decision. He advanced closer, looking over the body she left behind. It was a clean kill, he would've been dead instantly, it was actually admirable how steady a shooter she was quickly becoming, though this may have been dumb luck.

Despite the pain that was clear on her face, he tried to make light of the situation, "I can't have any more bodies lying around here."

She looked up at him, "I'll get it cleaned up." Despite her looking at him, it looked like her thoughts were miles away.

He frowned, feeling something along the lines of sympathy and somewhere in that, jealousy. He could only hope that she looked the same way if she ever had to put him down like a dog, "I can let you take a few days off."

She shook her head, looking down for a moment, temporarily lost in thought before shaking her head again, that time more for herself, "No, no, I'm okay." She turned back towards the body, it somehow looking more lifeless than before, she flipped him on his back, wincing at seeing his face, permanently contorted into one of shock. Nat grabbed his wrists and lifted the top half of his body off the ground, "Give me a hand here?"

Trevor obliged, grabbing his feet. They dragged him into the trunk of the car, locking him up tight. Natalie went back into the driver's side, starting up the car, all the while looking robotic with each motion. Trevor did his best to inform her of her next action, "Head down the the Liquor Ace, Chef can take it from there."

Natalie looked to only be half listening. Staring down at the wheel, she wondered when was killing going to get easier? Trevor did it so flawlessly, she could only imagine how many oceans of blood that dirtied his hands. She wondered if she would ever be like that, kill without moral, without regret. It would almost be better than the hurt she was feeling right now.

She looked back up at Trevor, who was looking right back down at her. She saw something that looked like compassion. It made her feel a little better to know she wouldn't be alone in this. But only a little, "No ones ever going to want people like us, are they?"

She knew purely by the look of his face that he asked himself that same question too many times to count. He shook his head, tapping the top of the car, "No, they're not."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

No amount of showering could get off the feel of Avery's hands lingering on the edges of her skin. And she knew, she was scrubbing herself down for the eighth time in a day. She couldn't deny how horribly she missed being touched so affectionately like that, even if it had only been a short time since then. But the truth was, there wasn't much hope that it could happen again, and it brought such a bitter ache in her chest.

Natalie never thought such gentle affection could leave her feeling so breathless before. But since she had gotten her taste of it, she was left nearly shaking and wanting for more. She couldn't get it now, however, the man who didn't have to adore her body without a sexual intention was most likely in a tub of acid, the last bits of his physical form dissolving away.

What haunted her the most was his face. He had no clue what was coming and she put him down like a feral animal. She left him with no dignity, no time to let him have his final words before he was killed. She regretted killing him the second that bullet went into his head, even if she knew she couldn't have taken any chances, it still hurt to see her have to end the life of someone so innocent. He got mixed up with her and she knew better than to let him do that, but she didn't listen. And she guessed correctly before that being with her could kill him, Natalie just never imagined that she would be the one to end his life.

This whole ordeal only confirmed that Rebecca could never, ever know about what she did for a living. Better yet, Rebecca would be well off just plain not having Natalie in her life anymore. But she couldn't do that to herself, she couldn't deal with the heartache, at least not now. With Avery dying, she knew the best course of action was to avoid those who didn't kill like she did. Natalie was better off alone and that is what she was going to be.

She stepped out of the shower once again and went to the mirror just above her sink. Her naked skin was rubbed so clean it was a raw and angry red in some places. Her discoloration advanced to the bags under her eyes, she hadn't slept since, and even if it wasn't that long ago, the emotional effort she was forced to deal with left her ready to collapse onto her bed. If only she could actually sleep at a time like this.

Her hand grazed over the mark Trevor once made on her shoulder. He treated it almost as a claim to her, but looking at it now, it felt like much more than a nearly morbid carnal desire for a temporary show of ownership. The scar almost felt like a brand, something that branded her to him and the job. It committed her to a life that brought her a lot of pain and misery, but it was the only thing she had that wouldn't go away, like everything else would. She could only ever stay with her job because it was the only thing she had left.

Natalie couldn't stand to look at herself for long. She left her bathroom and found some clothes lying around on the floor. She didn't bother to check the smell, not finding it too important. After finding a pair of shoes to slip on and tucking her handgun into the waistband of her sweatpants, she was out the door.

She just couldn't be alone in her house at the moment. She hoped to find some solace and ease of mind at Trevor's home. The place wasn't particularly therapeutic, but it was her best option besides drinking herself dead. Natalie walked in unannounced, finding Trevor alone in his home, channel surfing on a TV that looked like it was on its last legs.

Trevor didn't appear to mind the intrusion, greeting her with a nod of his head and a faint smile. It was rare to find him alone for too long, usually he had something to do and the people he associated with were never too far away. She didn't think he liked being by himself very much, being alone left him to his thoughts. It was something she dreaded, she could only imagine what a torture it was for him to deal with. Maybe that was why he was so experienced in drug use, so he had something that would let him ignore the fucked up shit.

She went straight for the cabinets in his kitchen, "How much alcohol do you have?"

He turned to her, finding her more interesting than yet another rerun of Republican Space Rangers. Somehow in dirty sweats, she was still amazingly gorgeous, "Not a lot, Ron needs to go on a grocery run."

Natalie sighed, settling for an alcohol stuffed in the far back that would most likely taste like gasoline. She turned to face him, "You think you can get him to do it now?"

She hardly need to ask. Trevor began yelling at the top of his lungs to get his neighbors attention. She winced at his yelling, but remained quiet as he barked orders for Ron to get his ass into gear. He looked back to her when he was sure that his subordinate was doing as he was told. He could easily tell by the look in her eye she had a lot weighing on her mind. But he knew better than to think that she'd ever want to talk about it. Which worked in his favor because he'd rather not here about her heartache over another man.

He was jealous. He wanted Natalie to care for him like she had Avery. But it proved too late now, he had been too wrapped up in a woman who only saw him as a passing romance, and while he still wanted for her, his craving for Nat was more immediate with her not going away like everyone else had. Maybe she had intended to leave, that was the only conclusion he could draw as to why she would bring Avery to McKenzie. It gave him some kind of deep sinking feeling inside his chest to think that she had every intention to abandon him and now she was stuck in Sandy Shores, Trevor being her last resort.

Natalie didn't see his inner burden, instead interested in a bevy of various prescriptions lined up on his worn down table. She got up, grabbing a bottle of Deludamol and reading over the description. Trevor spoke up when he saw her interest, "If you plan on drinking don't take too many of those. I don't want you OD'ing on my floor."

She could remember back when she was a teen and she would take them like candy. Deludamol wasn't too hard to come by and if you avoided passing out on them, there was a pretty pleasant high to be had. She hadn't had any in awhile so she took the recommended dose for intense pain. She turned back to him when she was sure all the pills got to where she wanted, "Do you have anything coming up I can help with?"

In fact he did, he had to pick up a shipment in the coming days and he could do with a helping hand in case people started sniffing around and things got hairy. But he knew that people in the state she in was had a habit of making reckless, and frankly suicidal decisions. The last thing he needed was for either of them to get riddled with bullets, "Nothing right now, no."

She sighed and nodded, having no reason not to trust him. She sampled the bottle she picked out and gagged, right in her prediction that it would taste awful, "Alright, well, let me know."

Ron was quick to enter the door, carrying bags upon bags of various groceries that Trevor was in need of. He set most of it in the kitchen, but turning to his boss with paper bags stuffed with various drinks. He set them down in front of him, then noticing they weren't alone. He saw Natalie and jumped back a little, seeming nervous, almost scared of her. Natalie had a look that reminded most of a brooding teen. But with the prominent scar carved across her face, she looked a bit more terrifying than that. Like a force to be reckoned with, and while the aesthetic pleased Trevor, it made Nervous Ron a bit more nervous. She only stared back at him, in no mood to exchange pleasantries, but rather annoyed that he was looking at her for so long.

She grimaced, grabbing the bag, picking out the first thing she could get her hands on. She was already feeling a bit drowsy from the medication, but ignored it as she went back to the kitchen and grabbed herself a relatively clean glass while the boys talked for a short while. She didn't pay them any attention as she poured herself a drink, downing half of it within seconds. She felt the familiar burn run down her throat and took a breath before she finished up the rest.

It probably wasn't a good idea to be drinking when she was already so depressed, but the opportunity to kill off a few brains cells and hopefully memories was something she couldn't pass up. Ron left quickly when Trevor told him to screw off. She turned back to her boss when the door closed, finding him watching her. She handed over a drink she made for him, "I don't like drinking alone." She stated simply, sitting herself back down beside him.

He wasn't one to pass up a drink. Accepting it, but not downing it as vigorously as she had. He peered over at her from the brim of his glass. He hated seeing her so gloomy, it only brought back his own darker moods, "You can have that bottle of Deludamol." He thought for a second, "Just don't go crazy with it."

She gave a short laugh that held no humor, "Why would you care?" When he didn't answer she glanced over at him. There was concerned on his face, and she realized he actually would care, very much so, "Okay, I won't."

Conversation was slowing to a standstill. Natalie too wrapped up in the images of the monster she was becoming to see how much Trevor wanted her to be concerned about him. There was a long, uncomfortable silence that rested heavy between them, making his heart race and hers feeling like it was giving out. She finally cut through it with a question, something that weighed tons more than it sounded, "Was it hard when you first killed someone?"

It was a hard question to answer, because the answer, that was simple, but the explanation ran miles. He was a product of America's worst, raised on the backs of bad people who couldn't pretend to care and running with people who would gladly kill him for their next high. When he first took a life all those years ago, it was true, he felt nothing for the corpse. But only because he had been conditioned to be a killer, "No." She deflated, suddenly feeling awful for not only being a killer, but a bad killer at that, "But it's different. You're a good person."

Her frown deepened, "I don't feel like a good person."

He didn't know what to say. He had no way of proving to her that she was still a decent human being, but just wrapped up in the wrong kind of crowd. Even if he did, he didn't want to tell her that the best advice he could give her was to leave and never look back, even though she very well should. He wanted her there, because she was the only one who put up with him without fear, because she was the only one who saw him as human and not some kind of savage.

She was watching him as he waged a war on himself. She was bringing him down and it only made her feel worse. But instead of blaming herself and continuing on her inner turmoil, she wanted to touch him. More importantly, she wanted to touch him the way she wanted so desperately to be touched. But she hesitated. If she brought herself to reach out and wrap her arms around him like she wanted, was she sure that she wanted to do it because she wanted him, or just wanted a person.

She hesitated no longer, reaching to him and cupping her hand against his cheek, feeling the thick stubble. He was caught off guard, watching her warily, not sure if he should believe the intention he thought she was conveying. He felt her mouth fall on his, lips pressing against his own hard. His hands were on her in an instant, pulling her closer and spilling the remainder of her drink in the process.

She parted with him just as quickly as she kissed him, leaving them both wanting more. But she had to be sure he knew what she meant by this, that she didn't intend to just take him to bed, though if they did end up there that was fine too. But she wanted him to see that she wanted feeling, something she had once hated, but now needed. Their lips were mere millimeters away from each other, aching to kiss again, but waiting for the other to begin and relieve the tension that was crackling between them. Natalie was the one granted that relief, kissing him again and soon she found herself on his lap. His hands went under her shirt, his fingertips pressing hard into her back, sending shock waves under her skin that made her chest tighten.

They were left breathless when they parted. Searching each others faces to find more of the affection they wanted. They found what they were looking for, yet intrusions from Trevor's head came through, "You were going to leave weren't you?"

She froze for a moment, but unable to lie, "Yeah..."

Dread went through him, but he only held her tighter, leaving her barely able to move, "Don't do that again."

She had no intention to by then. She wanted a home here, after all. And she couldn't quit when things got difficult like she wanted to. Sure staying here would bring hurt, but it was going to make her stronger, she just had to survive. Being near Trevor made it all seem easier. He had it figured out after all, having millions tucked away in bank accounts, with funds and people at his disposal. But still, why was he so unhappy?

Trevor had been acting a bit off tonight. He was quieter, more vulnerable. She remembered Ron and Wade once telling her that when Trevor would huff gasoline, he wasn't entirely himself. Or perhaps he was the version of himself hidden among the jumble of drugs. They admitted they'd hardly seen him in such a state, which they were grateful for. Trevor was scary on his own, but nothing was more terrifying than watching their boss wish for death.

She didn't want him to feel like that, but he was in the throws of his high, there wasn't much of anything she could do. She had kissed him again, lips pressed hard against his. His whole body responded eagerly to hers, tensing when he felt the tip of her tongue lightly grazing his lip. They knew he wanted more than a bit of kissing, but her body was relaxing, her hands not as tight on him, her kissing turning gentle.

He pulled apart to look at her. Her eyes didn't hold much focus on his. She was high and drunk and dead tired. A smile cracked on his lips, taking pity on her despite his steadily increasing hard-on. Without another word he lifted her up, a small yelp escaping her lips, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly.

He carried her over to his bed, laying her down. She refused to let go of him however, dragging him down onto the bed with her. She held him close, their faces inches apart from each other, "Are you going to fuck me now?"

As appealing as the idea was, he had to refuse, "Maybe later, Natalie."

She accepted it, nodding slowly and burying her face into the crook of his neck, a hand slipping down to his waist, thumb gently stroking his skin. He could feel her breathing against his neck slow as she found a comfortable sleep beside him.

–

When she had woken up, she was alone in bed. She felt drowsy still and a slight headache pumping through her brain. She sat up, realizing she wasn't in her own home. With a quick look over, she saw she was still in Trevor's home. She remembered what happened last night, how everything seemed so out in the open.

It brought a smile to her face to remember how Trevor showed that he wanted her around like that. She could only hope he was in a better mood today. She got up and found he wasn't in the trailer, she grabbed her phone to see if he had sent her anything only to see that her inbox remained empty. It made her slightly nervous. She was afraid that last night had been a fluke and not to be taken seriously. But Natalie dearly wanted it to be serious, even if she just lost a relationship.

Just as she was about to leave Trevor came right through the door. Based purely on his posture, she knew he was back to his normal mood. But the way he looked at her was different, he was angry, almost hurt, "You haven't left yet?"

It took her a second to process his attitude. Taking a step back since he was so dangerously close to her, "I was just about to..." She paused, before shaking her head and gaining her composure, "Wait, what's going on?"

He pushed past her, making her stumble back a little bit. She got her courage from that, "Trevor, what the hell?!"

He turned on his heel to face her again, his eyes wild, "What the hell? What the fuck do you mean by that?"

She frowned, "Jesus Christ, Trevor. I don't even know what the fuck is going on!"

He jabbed a finger at her, "What's going on is that you thought you could use me as some rebound. Well, fuck you, Natalie. I'm not going to be your second best."

She had to pause a moment to realize everything. She had killed Avery only a short while ago, and there she was last night already trying to hop into bed with Trevor. It really did seem like she was just using him to get over her loss. And she really had to think for a second. But the answer was clear to her, it was so much more than that.

"You're not my second best. I came onto you because I like you!"

He gave out a harsh laugh, "Oh yeah, just how you liked Avery, right?"

She winced, feeling suddenly smaller, "Don't say that."

"That's it right? It's about Avery. You were gonna run off with him and you're stuck with me."

She caught a second wind, if he was going to bring up others, she could play the same game, "What about Patricia? As soon as she left, you were right back trying to fuck me. So I guess by your reasoning, I was a rebound, right?"

He was on the defensive now, "That's different."

"It's not, Trevor! Jesus, what are you so pissed off about? Are you trying to ruin this before it even starts?"

He glared, "Before what starts?"

Natalie ran a hand through her hair roughly, "God, I don't know. Something more than this! Something more than using each other for sex and pretending we don't give a fuck about each other! Trevor, I fucking care about you and I know you do too or you wouldn't be acting like this!"

He was silent, looking her over. Trying to see if she was really being honest about everything. It was hard to tell.

She continued when he didn't answer, taking a breath and speaking calmly, "Trevor, I want to know what we are."

"What we are?"

She sighed, still so annoyed with all of this, "Yes, what are we going to do now? What do you want, do you want me to leave?"

It was a question she didn't really want to ask, but it was the only one she could make. She feared Trevor's answer, because she was going out on a limb here and if he rejected her now, there was really no telling what damages could happen.

His eyes were on her, his mouth in a hard line as he fought with himself. She could see the anger slowly draining away from him. And after what felt like ages, he finally spoke, saying just one word, but it was just what she wanted, "No."

Natalie waited for him to make another outburst. When none came she took a breath, her shoulders relaxing, she hid the smile that tried its damnedest to come out, "No? Then come over here and kiss me."

He didn't need to be asked twice, thinning the space between them until his mouth was on hers again. Her back was soon on the door, taking what was now his. He parted only for a second, "If you use me I'm going to kill you."

She smirked against his mouth, her fingers digging into his back, "Shut up."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

She was in a room full of people who were complete strangers to her, but by the way they were all behaving towards her, they could have been lifelong friends. Natalie had gotten access to a house party by paying her way in through the front door. Twenty dollars didn't seem like much, but it was just enough to grease the pocket of the host.

She had been plotting to get into this party for a week now, the hipsters were in full swing this time of year on account of the mass amount of music festivals being held in the desert side of San Andreas. The indie crowd young and old needed their own kind of fuel to survive through their weeks of crowded spaces and shitty music. The fuel usually being niche drugs and cheap beer, and Natalie's boss and new boyfriend Trevor had niche drugs by the dozen.

As much as he hated the soul sucking crowd, he couldn't deny that there was definitely a market to be had. So Natalie opted to disguise herself as one of them and immerse herself into their devil-may-care antics.

She played the part of Leslie Harper, a barely legal teen who ran away from home at sixteen, who had enough streets smarts and know-how to know exactly where all the 'good stuff' was to be found this side of Blaine County. The party-goers were instantly enthralled by Leslie, wanting to know exactly who she was and how she managed to look so 'too cool to care', something these millennials aspired to be with every fiber of their being.

But she shared little about herself, not wanting them to know under that thick coat of makeup and the long, black wig that there was a woman there simply to line her pockets with their money in exchange for the hefty supply of narcotics she had strapped to her back.

Beginnings started off slow, with her pulling lonely people aside and selling them a gram, telling them to spread the word. But when the talkative crowd got word of their very own narcotics vending machine, her name was being dropped every which way. The young and excitable and the old and bored flocked to her for their very own taste, and her product was great. So one-time customers soon became second-time customers so they could hoard a good amount for the road ahead. She was near selling out by three hours.

When the buyer crowd was beginning to lull to a standstill, she found herself sat on a couch with four other people crammed beside her, Natalie being the only remotely sober person out of the rest. They all were enthralled in their various substance abuses and talking wildly about parties come to past. But Nat was barely paying any attention, instead staring off, thinking of the profit she had made and what next she could do to get that money ball rolling again.

She barely even noticed when a rolled up dollar bill got shoved into her face. The owner of said dollar bill was a girl the age Natalie was pretending to be, who she vaguely remembered to be named Ramona, "Wanna try?"

Natalie looked to her smiling face then back at the dollar bill, "Hm? What?"

Ramona giggled, which would've been cute on her if she didn't look like she'd been awake for a week, "Coke, dude. Want to try it?"

Natalie's attention went to the coffee table in front of them. Set out was a CD case and a razor, along with several perfectly made white lines. Several other had already had their try at it.

Natalie didn't have much experience when it came to cocaine. When it came to drugs as a bratty teen, no one had the means to get their hands on it, so the went with whatever was locked up in their parents bathroom cabinet. And even now, Trevor didn't sell coke. Coke was the caviare of drugs after all, and there wasn't much need for high class in class-less Sandy Shores.

But Natalie saw no reason not to try, she was adventurous of course. It looked like the market was tapped out here for the night so she was planning on leaving soon anyways. She shrugged carelessly, taking the dollar out of the Ramona's hand. She leaned down and did what she'd learned from the countless mafia movies she watched. She could only manage to snort half a line before taking a breath, but she didn't back down at that, finishing up the rest of the line.

When the powder hit her nose and traveled down to the back of her throat, the first thing she noticed was a burning sensation. It wasn't pleasant, but at the same time in wasn't unbearable. There was a chemical taste in the back of her throat as the stuff made its way down into her system. She plugged up the nostril she hadn't used and sniffed up the residue left in her nose before turning back to the girl.

The girl was grinning from ear to ear, taking her dollar back when she was sure her new friend Leslie was done, "Well? What do you think?"

Natalie felt around in her own head for a second. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, she was a little buzzed, but that was only because she had a couple beers, it must have been some cheap shit or just hadn't hit yet, "I'll get back to you on that."

She left the couch at that to seek other company around the house. Before she stepped into the home turned temporary night club, she had never met a single soul here. Being here for only a couple hours however, everyone seemed to know her. Several had asked for a phone number so they could party with her later, but she gave them all fake numbers. She didn't care for their friendship to continue outside of this party and she wasn't looking to be a full time dealer either, honestly, with her minimal experience, it was a wonder she was making bank.

Natalie slipped into a empty bathroom and locked the door behind her. She turned to the small mirror hanging just above a shabby sink. She barely recognized herself when she did an inspection to see if she still looked alright, the jet black wig made her look paler and was about 5 inches longer than her actual hair. Her makeup did a good job on covering the bags she wore under her eyes. Although it didn't do much to hide the scar on her cheekbone, but she didn't expect it to help anything that harsh.

She found herself staring into her own eyes through her reflection, surprised to see her pupils dilate almost instantly. The coke must've owned a long fuse because she was feeling it now. And she was feeling great. She suddenly found the bathroom not that interesting after all and went right back to the party. The people she once only had a mild interest in now seemed like the most fascinating people in the world and she felt just as amazing as them. She was actually happy to be there other than to take their money.

She was soon to meet back up with the girl who let her have a hit. The girl was still smiling and Natalie was sure that her face was probably aching by then, but then again she had to have been out of her mind on a cocktail of drugs by then.

Ramona girl shot up like lightening when she saw her friend, quickly maneuvering through the crowd to meet her halfway. She grabbed Natalie by the arms, her fingers shaking as she gripped onto her, "Well?"

Natalie laughed, barely bothered about the girl's lack of understanding about personal space, "I see what you mean."

Ramona seemed ecstatic to hear it. She grabbed Natalie's good hand and dragged her back to the couch to take another hit with her. Neither had no qualms about double dosing, or even triple dosing, and that's exactly what they did. Natalie was feeling great, better than she had in a long while. Avery wasn't even in her mind then, which was surprising since he often occupied her thoughts.

Conversation came easy to Natalie now, she felt powerful and downright perfect and she had only the coke running inside her system to thank. But even though she was fascinated about how much of dick the girl's ex boyfriend was, she couldn't help but notice the girl's bag being left unattended in the corner of the room. It was stupid of her to leave it there really, especially since she'd been bragging all night about how she was the best person to reach if you needed a fix.

Natalie looked out the window on her right to see it was sunrise. Shit, she didn't expect to be here that long. She looked at her phone, three texts from Trevor and a missed call. Double shit.

She made up some lame excuse to pardon herself out of the conversation. Heading towards the way out. She stopped just short of the bag the girl was paying no attention to. Natalie did a general look around to make sure she was unnoticed before snatching it and making a beeline out the front door.

Natalie jogged over to her car parked not far from where the house party was. Hopping in and taking a breath, she was really going to feel this later.

Her hand was soon back on her phone, opening up the texts first. Reading them out:

Come over when ur done

Where r u?

Natali, pick up ur fone.

She whined, not even bothering to check the voice mail he left for her, already having a good guess on what he would probably be yelling at her about. She tossed her phone, grabbing the bag she stole instead. The bag was a knockoff of a Ponsonbys, and a cheap one at that. But she didn't entirely care, she was more interested in what was was inside.

Held inside was a multitude of the girls possessions. A cell phone, two cell phones in fact, why she needed two was beyond her, but those would make her a good bit of money to sell. Loose change was scattered around the bottom along with a few receipts from various gas stations. A wallet holding several most likely expired credit cards and about seventy dollars in cash, pocketing the cash immediately.

And finally, exactly what Natalie had been looking for. She found three prescription bottles half full of various over the counter pill sure to promise a good high. Then another, much larger pill bottle that was labeled vitamins, but when Natalie opened it up and looked inside, there definitely weren't any vitamins to speak of. The bottle was stuffed to the brim with balloons filled with coke.

She couldn't help but grin at the stash she just nicked. Ramona was probably going to be kicking herself for weeks for losing what Natalie just gained, but Natalie couldn't care less. She set the bag in her passengers seat and started up the car. It wheezed to life and she drove the couple miles back towards Sandy Shores.

The sun had risen by the time she was nearing her destination, the morning sun promising another scorcher. She pulled into Trevor's dirt driveway and killed the engine. His Bodhi was haphazardly parked outside, some of his wire fencing mangled under the front tires.

She shook her head and tsked to herself softly, heading up the porch and through the always unlocked front door. Trevor sat inside, looking drunk and bitter, standing the moment she walked in. He wiped the residue of his beer off the thick stubble on his chin, "Where were you?"

Natalie gave him an even look, not willing to deal with his sour mood when she was coming down, "It's nice to see you too, Trevor."

He had a grimace on his face, stepping closer to her, invading her space. His voice was harsh, making her wince slightly, "Don't sass me."

She gave a heavy sigh, removing her wig and setting it on the counter before turning to face him, "Trevor, I'm here now, and I'm very tired. Can we talk about this later."

Natalie turned towards his bedroom, but he blocked her path. She saw his hand was tight on his empty beer bottle, any tighter and it would surely break in his fist, "Who were you with?" He demanded, his voice getting louder.

She did her best to remain calm, not wanting to escalate the situation any more than it already was, "I was selling, like you told me to." She paused for a moment, having to think exactly why he was so mad, "What do you think I was doing?"

He scoffed, "Who knows! I mean, when my girl is out all night looking like that anything can happen." She would be flattered by the off comment if he wasn't currently yelling at her. His hand snaked onto her chin in a flash, forcing her to look him in the eye. His eyes bore into hers, watching her for a second, "You're fucking high. We're you stealing from me?" He accused.

She jerked her head away, taking a step back, "I'd never steal from you, I'm not stupid, Trevor! Jesus, some girl offered me a little something and I tried it out. No big fucking deal." If he was going to be acting like that she would be better off crashing at her own place. She reached for the backpack from her shoulder and shoved it into his hand, "Here, I made a couple thousand. Call me when you're done being a dick."

She turned back to the front door, ready to make her leave before Trev spoke up again, "Wait."

She groaned, sounding childish before turning once again, "What?"

He didn't look so pissed off now, "You made all this?"

She shrugged slightly, crossing her arms over her chest, looking far less in a good mood since the beginning of this conversation, "I told you I would."

Trevor didn't seem so pissed now, but then again, money had that effect on people. He tossed the backpack to the couch and moved closer to her, leaning down and kissing her.

If that was his sign that he wasn't mad at her anymore, then she accepted it, glad she could diffuse that bomb. She kissed him back, letting her stress leave her body, she pulled apart after a moment, "Can I sleep now?"

He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her chest, letting out a faint hum of enjoyment, "No, not yet."

She whined, but still let him wrap his muscled arms around her waist and pull her closer, "Trev, I'm tired."

He leaned down and kissed her, he cursed her for being so short, "You're always tired."

She smiled a little, kissing him back, "I don't know what to tell you, babe."

Natalie couldn't really fight it anymore, not that she wanted to. As appealing as falling asleep was to her, Trevor was a bit more interesting. Before they could get the ball rolling, she lead him to his bedroom.

He smirked as both of them fell on the bed, Trevor hovering over her, "You better not fall asleep on me."

She had her arms around his neck, bringing him closer, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Trev apparently didn't want to talk much more than that, his hands were already on her shirt, pulling it off of her in seconds. He thanked the gods above she decided to go bra-less that day. He mouth lowered to the scar he once made on her neck, his mouth pressed hard against the scar tissue. She let out a soft breath, her fingers running though his hair and one of her legs snaking around his hips, so their crotches rubbed so pleasingly together.

Their lips were back together, Natalie regaining her energy from him. There was no such thing as gentle with Trevor and she loved that about him. Their lips pressed hard against each other, sure to leave bruising when they were done. Natalie's tongue lightly grazed his bottom lip, his entire body tensed up at that, a hand moving to roughly cup her breast.

Her chest arched into his hand, letting out a needy moan. She couldn't help but have her nails claw into his back as kisses turned to bites on her neck. He was more than pleaed to hear her whimpers and moans fill his ears like music. He wasted no time unbuttoning her shorts and jerking them off her legs, throwing them to the side. By the looks of it, she chose to go full commando that night and it only got him more riled up.

Trevor put his hand in between her legs and she all but squealed at the feel of his calloused hand pressed against her most sensitive area. She bit her lip to keep herself quiet, but let go of her kiss swollen bottom lip when his fingers pressed against her clit. She gasped and shivered, her hips almost instantly jerking upwards. He didn't stop when he got the reaction he wanted however, using two fingers to rub her in just the right way.

She panted softly, her hips rolling upwards to get more of the friction she just desperately wanted. She could feel his smile against her skin, excited to see her react so well to every simple touch he provided her.

He only stopped when he heard the words he wanted to hear. Her entire body was tense, her arms around him, holding onto him for dear life. He heard her desperate, needy whisper as he began to pump his two fingers inside her, "We need a condom."

Those were never too far away. She broke contact him for a few painful seconds, rolling over on her stomach and grabbing an wrapped condom off the floor. She reached back and handed it over to him, prompting him to get her from behind. He preferred seeing her back when he was drilling into her anyways, it allowed him to get a good look and hold of her ass while his other hand knotted into her hair, which was one of his favorite parts about her.

He took the condom from her and undid his zipper, his hard-on springing free. He slid the condom it onto his length like he had a thousand times before, grabbing her hips to get a good hold of her as he positioned his head right at her entrance. She raised her rear up a bit and felt every bit as his cock slid fully into her.

"Ooh, fuck." Trevor hissed through his teeth as the wet, warm feeling wrapped around his shaft.

She let out a soft, breathy moan as he thrust into her at an even pace, feeling every inch of him inside her. Natalie's whole body ignited with blinding want as he seemed to press deeper and deeper into her and he was edging near the same feeling.

Natalie's hands balled to fists and gripped tightly into the bedsheets underneath their sweating and hot bodies. She was moaning and whimpering, cursing the feeling of bliss her was supplying her. One had was tight on her hip, bringing her closer as her rutted into his, his hips smacking loudly into her rounded rear. His breath came uneven and heavy, feeling her tighten around his shaft as he hit her sweet spot just right.

Trevor felt her hips rock back against him in a greedy attempt for more. He gave her just what she needed, his fingers gripping tighter into her skin, gritting his teeth as we pounded into her unevenly as he was nearing his climax.

He would be damned if he came before her, though. Reaching down and grabbing tight into her hair, forcing her deeper on his cock. She cried out at the pure ecstasy, almost unable to breath it felt to good. She was drawing closer to her own orgasm when she felt his hand slide back down to her core, fingering her as her pressed into her. She soon found release, her orgasm fueling blissful shock waves to resonate through her.

She was gripping onto his cock tightly as she came, it was enough to drive him over the edge, giving one last final buck into her before he came hard, legs trembling. He couldn't hold himself up for long, flopping on the bed beside, trying his hardest to catch her breath as she did the same. Her body relaxed totally, unable to even keep her eyes open by then. She hardly needed to worry about her insomnia since dating Trevor, he wore her out plenty.

Natalie heard him sit up, taking off the condom and tossing it in the waste bin, "I'm leaving tonight for Los Santos."

He frequently did, having business there as she understood it. However she didn't like him being there. His home base was a rather sleazy strip club, and while she had faith in him not to go screwing around with anyone else, she still wasn't entirely fond of the idea of him being up close and personal with half naked girls, "I'm coming with you." Was all she could mumble out.

He didn't argue with her, leaning down and pecking her before getting back up to surely get lit again.


End file.
